Labyrinth
by NightbirdSongbird
Summary: Legolas has been going quietly insane and is now turning self-destructive, while his parents watch on in helpless horror. Can he be saved from himself? Slash warning. Not dark all the time. UPDATE last chapter
1. Enter the Maze

A/n: Here's my second major slash story!!!! It's a Legolas/Haldir. I lub slash!!! Well, this was described as my ideal slash pairing, soooo... yea!!!! It involves insanity, the bad kind. It's a bit dark, bit moody.  
I already know the ending, and the whole thing will hopefully make you hate me for doing something so cruel to Leggy and Haldir, yet addict you to the plot. Or just make you hate me. I will probably be abandoning my other works for this, I'm really into it. Review me or else I won't continue!!!! Byex!  
  
Labyrinth Chapter One: Enter the Maze  
  
Don't speak. Don't sing. Don't scream.  
  
Do not make a sound.  
  
Legolas rocked back and forth on the ground, his hair dirty and his eyes glazed. The mantra pounded in his head.  
  
Don't you say a word.  
  
Footsteps, footsteps. Scraping.  
  
Legolas shuddered.  
  
His knuckles scraped against the stone and made it crimson.  
  
Don't you dare make a sound.  
  
His knuckles were raw with pain. Legolas kept scraping, ignoring a fly that had settled on his arm. His mouth was set in a white line. His eyes were wide and white as milk.  
  
His face was pale as the moon.  
  
He didn't make a sound.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Thranduil sighed and rubbed his temples. He looked up at the face of his wife, Eilphdi. Her hair was a deep, glossy gold, and her eyes were the same color. She was often called Thoron, for she was rarely as gentle as her namesake. Right now, though, she was a mess.  
  
Her eyes were weary, and her hair was knotted and frizzed. Her face was lined with worry, and the frown that seemed to be her normal expression of late was harsher for want of smiles.  
  
Thranduil glanced at his desk. "Did he talk today?" he asked, knowing the answer. Eilphdi shook her head, and let it drop.  
  
He sighed again, a frown creasing his brow. "What was he doing when you first saw him today?"  
  
"Rubbing his knuckles bloody against the flagstones. Vala, melda, what are we going to do? Something is frightening him horribly. Did you get even the smallest hint?" Eilphdi looked so pleading that Thranduil felt like weeping in frustration.  
  
"No," he whispered hoarsely. "Not a whisper."  
  
Eilphdi bowed her head once more. "Then there is nothing for it." Thranduil nodded, grief a heavy crown for him to bear.  
  
"We must send him to the Lady and pray she has an answer."  
  
Legolas had been growing quieter and quieter since he had turned one hundred. On his two hundredth birthing day, he had stopped talking completely. Now he seemed to going quietly mad.  
  
Nothing they did stopped what was happening to him. They tried to remove the people that troubled him, tried to spend time with him, and tried to give him suitable playmates. They tried to keep him sheltered. But no matter what they did, he would not speak. Soon, he began to behave as though he were terrified when anyone who was not his mother or father approached him.  
  
Now, Thranduil could not go near him without alarming him, and Eilphdi had been 'rejected' from his senses long ago. He did not appear to recognize her. They had given up hope.  
  
Only the Lady offered some slim hope of recovery for the Prince.  
  
Only her.  
  
******************************************************************  
A/n: REAAAAAAALY short. ^^;. Lalalala... er... erm... well... aye, I be a wee bit strange.  
Muse#1: 'Daft' 's the word.  
Hey!!!!  
Muse#1: :P  
Ahem. Anyway. Well, reviews please. And I lub you all!!!!!  
Except if you don't review. Then I hate your guts.  
:)  
  
~Nightbird*Songbird 


	2. Who are you?

In response to reviews:  
  
Cheysuli: OHMYGOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! HI!!!!!!!!! Remember me? I e- mailed you once, like, ages ago! My name was 'elfy baby blue' back then!!!!!! AIE!!!!!!!  
Plus, you are like, a legend. *_* I got a review from you!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! (begins to bounce)  
  
Silvawen: Never fear, Batwoman is here and she will not stop writing this fic!!!!! ... cos you see my nickname is Batwoman. ^^. Dunno wai, I'm a fluffy bunnies sort of person. ^^. And, no fears!!! Me and my muses actually agree on this for once. We will write as much as we can for this!!!!! Oh, and btw... I am going to England for Christmas!!!!! Maybe, if fate bends my way, I will bump into you somewhere. :)  
  
Keeper of the Dreams: Aloha!!!!! And, want to know my secret for writing? I feed my muses (and myself) a TON of sci/fi, fanfiction, molten lava, and sugar!!!! Lol, I am insane!!!!!!! Nice to find a soulmate!!!  
  
Checkmate: Hi!!!!!!! Nice to meet you. Here is more. Hope you enjoy!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. (bawls)  
  
Chapter Two: Labyrinth  
  
Legolas was woken by the faintest touch of a hand upon his shoulder. His eyes snapped open, the pupils mere pinpoints and the whites nearly drowning his irises. Slowly, he shrank back from the hand that had frozen over him. A soft whimper rose in the back of his throat as he realized who it was.  
  
"Legolas. Your mother and I have decided that- that you are becoming very sick. We want to help you get better, but we don't know how to do it. So we- we are sending you to Lothlorien to see the Lady Galadriel. She will stop whatever is making you ill. Saes- ionn- do not reject aid, I beg of you.  
  
Legolas shook his head in disbelief, as his tormentor continued. "Saes. Legolas. You must get well. We love you too much to lose you."  
  
Love? This evil yrch did not know what love was. All Legolas wanted was someone who wouldn't betray him, and... he had that already. A small smile touched his lips, and he retreated away from the betrayer. The yrch would sooner stab him than look at him; he had learned it well.  
  
Thranduil sighed and stepped out of his crazed ionn's room. The poor boy was so far removed from the world, he thought everyone was an enemy. Gwaloth, keeper for all the damaged elves, was waiting outside the door. Her eyes were wide and frightened.  
  
"Hîr? Is the cunn well?" Thranduil shook his head sadly. Gwaloth sighed.  
  
"I had hoped he would be better by now; I had hoped that he would not have to be sent away to the Noldor..."  
  
Thranduil smiled gently. "I am sure he will do well, with both you and the Lady Galadriel to look after him." Gwaloth looked up at him with a gasp.  
  
"I am coming? I am accompanying the cunn?" Thranduil nodded.  
  
Gwaloth smiled ecstatically. "Thank you, hîr!" She skipped lightly into Legolas's quarters, bright and happy as a ray of sunshine.  
  
Thranduil smiled. Gwaloth was quite impossible not to like, for she was so happy and sweet. In fact, Legolas even permitted her near him for periods of time. She was one of Thranduil's last links to his ionn.  
  
Gwaloth simply adored Legolas. Thranduil was quite happy that none of the other elves were at war with them, and so an alliance marriage was unnecessary. Legolas would be able to marry whomever he wanted, when he recovered his senses; and it was likely to be Gwaloth, given how the two seemed to connect.  
  
Thranduil chuckled and walked down the hall. The corridor was empty and quiet.  
  
Even emptier were the eyes of the entity watching from the shadows. A ghost of a smile was settled on her lips.  
  
She stepped out of the alcove where she was hiding and picked up a needle in the middle of the carpet. Puzzled, she turned it over in her hands, and then smiled and began to grind the point into her palm. Blood spilled up, and she sighed, dropping it.  
  
"Blood is everywhere," she said in a sing-song voice, beginning to skip lightly towards the balcony. "Blood is even in the needles!"  
  
She paused at the edge of the balcony, a grin plastered to her face. "Blood everywhere. Evidence is everywhere. I sing and sing and sing but you can't hear! You can't hear! I'll never let you hear."  
  
Her eyes darkened, and tears formed in them, making them glisten. Her smile drifted away, and her hand raised, trembling, to her ears. They were sliced in half at jagged angles. "Stop," she whispered pleadingly. "Please stop. Don't eat me. Don't!"  
  
Then she was all smiles again. "I am a ghostly bird!" she crowed, arms spread wide. "I can scream and bleed and fly and no one can ever see me! No one! Not ever!"  
  
Legolas's haggard, pale face appeared at the door. Gwaloth was right behind him, a hand on his arm. "... oh, no you don't, Legolas, turn around like a good boy now and let's go back inside... Erin! What are you doing out of your room, hiril?" Gwaloth gently pushed Legolas back inside his room and shut the door firmly. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Erin.  
  
Erin cast her eyes downwards. "No one can hear me," she said plaintively, by way of explanation. Gwaloth sighed with frustration.  
  
"Honestly, one would think that Mirkwood affects the mind! You are all mad, all of you! They are sending the cunn to live with Noldor until he is healed, and I am going. That means you and the other sick ones must come too. Valar... oh, Valar... come, Erin, let's go back to your room."  
  
"But you can't hear me," Erin objected, petulance filling her voice with the threat of tears. Gwaloth's eyes hardened.  
  
"Move, Erin. Into your room, now, or I will have to force you in."  
  
Erin's eyes nearly brimmed over, but she sniffled and meekly began to head over to an open hallway door with her head down. "I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry," she mumbled continuously under her breath. "I am sorry. I am sorry. Please forgive me, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry."  
  
Gwaloth's eyes grew yet colder. "Move, Erin!" she snarled, and began to drag Erin at a faster pace towards the room in which she was kept. Erin cried out softly.  
  
"But it is frightening in that room! The shadow, the shadow! The shadows will eat me alive!"  
  
Gwaloth shoved Erin into the room. "You are fine, Erin. No one will even come to see you until tomorrow when I bring you food. I promise."  
  
"Promise the shadows won't get me?"  
  
Gwaloth rolled her eyes. "I promise."  
  
Erin smiled disturbingly and leaned against the door to stop Gwaloth from shutting it. Gwaloth grunted and leaned on the other side, trying to close it.  
  
"If you aren't telling the truth..." Erin's face was twisted and frightening, and Gwaloth struggled harder. But the door scarcely moved, and Gwaloth had to heave against it before it shut with a smooth click.  
  
From behind the door came Erin's voice.  
  
"Then I will command the shadows, and they will obey me- and they will eat you until your bones are all that it left."  
  
Gwaloth shuddered and stepped away from the door. She glared at it, and muttered something rude under her breath.  
  
She stepped back into Legolas's room, and shut the door behind her. Silence once again reigned the halls. Even Erin was silent.  
  
No one knew much about Gwaloth, other than her name, 'blossom', and her cheerful attitude. She was secretive, having come from the streets, and she had no background.  
  
Nobody knew what she did in her spare time, but she was assumed to be helping the cunn. After all, everyone knew she loved him to death.  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: Woot, no one's reading, but that's okay because I already KNOW I am worthless. Please review, even to flame me to a crisp. And, no, this is not a MS, it will be slash. ^^. Byez!!!!! Please review!!!!! Oh, and for the 2-watt bulbs out there: cunn = prince. I thought it was obvious, but, hey, what do I know? 


	3. Journey

A/n: Back again!!! Here! Story!  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. (bawls)  
  
Chapter Three: Journey  
  
Eilphdi and her husband went to the gates of Eryn Lasgalen to see the procession away. At the front rode a third of the guard. Another third rode at the back. In the middle were the civilians and the remaining third of the guardsmen intermingled.  
  
Gwaloth rode close to the front, alongside Legolas. She smiled at him. "So! Legolas. How are you feeling today?" He didn't answer. He did not make a sound. He merely smiled at her.  
  
He could not remember why he must be silent, but the fear of the memories was overlaid with pain. He must never remember what it was. He had to forget everything to be safe from the hurt.  
  
Naturally, this made Legolas repress his memories as soon as they were built up. How could he not, when the whispered danger lurked within them? Legolas had to forget.  
  
Don't think of a thing. Don't remember a thing. Do not even think of breathing a word to anyone. They are all against you. You have to hide, you have to hide.  
  
Don't make a sound.  
  
He absentmindedly tugged at the bandages on his knuckles. His eyes were vacant, devoid of interest in what was going on around him. The only way to avoid memories altogether was to not think to begin with. Especially now, when he was supposed to be emotional over leaving the safety of his rooms.  
  
Emotions brought up memories. For now, he wasn't allowed to feel.  
  
In about an hour, Legolas had managed to push to the very back of his mind the reasons for his departure. He sat4, apparently attentive, and listened to Gwaloth, but his mind was elsewhere.  
  
His heart, on the other hand, was something he privately believed dead.  
  
Erin was riding on his other side, wrapped up in a cloak that was too big for her, and still shivering. She looked forlorn, a dejected look in her eyes. Even though the cloak covered her whole body and some of her horse's, she shivered.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Galadriel stood firmly behind her dais, and looked with soft eyes at her Marchwarden. He was standing straight and proud, like a tree himself. He was a sturdy fellow, and dependable as a rock. His face was settled into a firm, monotonus gaze that betrayed no emotion whatsover. It also gave him the look of someone who allowed no nonsense, which was precisely what the ancient Lady of Caras Galadhon needed at the moment.  
  
Galadriel smiled inwardly at her Marchwarden's stoic, never-changing attire and stance, and then began to speak.  
  
"Haldir. The Mirkwood elves are sending four elves, that may or may not be suffering dementia, here to live until they are healed. They have despaired of healing said afflicted by themselves. The party shall arrive in nearly a week's time, so I want you to escort them to me."  
  
Haldir bowed shortly. "Thank you for the warning, my Lady," he said smoothly. "Who are these elves so afflicted?"  
  
Galadriel bowed her head and sighed. "I know three of them are nobles, but among them is the Prince."  
  
Haldir drew in his breath sharply. He was silent for a while, and then he spoke again.  
  
"Why is he- are they driven into madness? Has Thranduil told you anything?"  
  
Galadriel frowned. "To tell you the truth, he is hoping that we can tell him." A gust of cold wind ran through the leaves, and Haldir leaned into it. Though Lorien was nearly unaware of the seasons, the wind's temperature clearly shouted that it was winter. Galadriel herself did not feel the cold, for her dais was sheltered. She creased hre brow and hoped what she was about to ask would not sit too badly with her Marchwarden.  
  
"Haldir, I am assigning an Elf to look after each of the mad ones, for they are not destructive except to themselves. I have decided that you are best to look after the Prince, for you are the most responsible of my leaders." Haldir's expression was that of a man who has been struck with a poleaxe very recently, and his mouth dropped open.  
  
"But-" he said weakly, and then sighed irritably. "I consent," he said in a voice that hinted very strongly he felt quite the opposite of what he was saying. Galadriel decided to politely overlook this detail, and smiled with relief.  
  
"Thank you, Haldir. You have my permission to go now. And I will be giving you half-time duties on your post as Guardian."  
  
Haldir nodded, and slowly walked out of the room, down the hall, up two ladders, and into his talan. Once there, the silent and dignified Marchwarden of Lothlorien let out a muffled scream, pounding his fists against his head.  
  
"Stuck with a loon instead of duties, Valar there is no justice!!!!" he screamed to the trees. He slumped over to his bed and folded his arms over his knees, which were drawn up to his chest. He glared angrily at his pillow.  
  
"So," he said quietly. "In a week or less, I am going to be forced to take time off my schedule to look after a Prince who's a babbling, slack- jawed, mindless madman who isn't capable of coherent thought. Well. That just makes my day!"  
  
Sighing, Haldir brushed back his pale, platinum blonde hair and flopped down on his bed to enter the dream-world, having no other outlet for his aggravation. His neck and back were aching with tension, and he exhaled gustily, popping out the kinks and rubbing the sore spots with a free hand. Valar, he hated talking to people other than the members of his guard. Now, he was probably going to have to live with an insane one every waking moment.  
  
He knew, with a tangible annoyance, that he certainly wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Out of stubborness, he stayed put, brooding in the darkness.  
  
The majority of his life was lonely. But loneliness in the dark, with nothing but a melancholy ray of starlight half-heartedly shining through the window and no other talan around for quite a distance-  
  
Well, it brought up old memories that he would rather stayed hidden. He got under his blankets and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the mental image of his mother, but to no avail. She appeared before him, as she had been the moment before she had fallen, an arror through her heart. She had given him a silver pair of rings with a soft smile.  
  
"The orcs are getting closer, little one. You must take these. When you grow up, give one to the Elf you fall in love with. The Valar know I may not have time to give them to you in the future-" she had said, her bright eyes and smile making it seem as though this were just a game, as though the situation was much less desprate than it was in reality. He had clung to her back tightly, and smiled back as they ran through the trees, back to the city. She had kept smiling, stopping right in her tracks, as she fell to the ground. Haldir was pushed off her back by the crude arrow that was jabbed through her body.  
  
His brothers had saved his life, and a few years later Haldir discovered that mother was not going to come back, no matter how many times he asked them when. Even at that early age, he had comprehended that his mother was dead.  
  
Haldir grew up a quiet child, loved by his two brothers and the Lady Galadriel, but he had sworn to defend all Elves from the filthy orcs as long as he lived. So, he took up the arts of archery, equitation, and bladework as he grew older. Now he was the Marchwarden, and he had almost forgotten why he wanted to fight the enemy in the first place.  
  
Haldir sighed and rolled over, wishing he could muster up the irritation of a few minutes ago, but he couldn't. He bowed his head in defeat, and began to try to think of what he could do to prepare for the new Elf in his talan. For starters, he would have to find out as soon as the cavalcade arrived whether or not this Prince required anything special, like medication of a sort, or if he had seizures that might make him spasm at times. There were plenty of things that he had to watch out for. Haldir was just musing over the possiblity that his new roomate could be a pyromaniac, when Rumil walked in, a smile on his face.  
  
"Why the long face, brother? Did Galadriel dump a charge on you in the procession that's heading from Mirkwood?"  
  
Haldir growled. "Yes," he said bitterly. Rumil grinned.  
  
"Me too. Orophin and I got a pair of brothers that refuse to eat and have to be forced to drink. Apparently, they're walking skeletons. Yours?"  
  
Haldir quietly absorbed the information, then sighed again. " I got the Prince," he muttered blackly. Rumil stared blankly.  
  
"What's wrong with him?"  
  
"No one knows. Keep quiet about it, though, okay? I want to avoid a scene when the Mirwood Elves arrive." Rumil nodded wisely.  
  
"I see. Now, come down and have a drink with me and Orophin and the the other poor chap- I think his name is Hellë- who got landed with a madwoman."  
  
Haldir got up, interested. "Madwoman? This sounds interesting."  
  
Rumil giggled. "Her name's Erin. It means 'day' in Sindarin. Bit plain. eh? But she's got a terrific story, you have to hear it. Quite sad, really."  
  
Haldir sighed. "You know, those brothers are going to eat, not because you tell them to, but just to get you to shut up." Rumil mock- scowled at him, then laughed again.  
  
"Honestly, Haldir, you're so gloomy all the time, you're almost morbid."  
  
*****tbc*****  
A/n: :) Glad u like!!!!!!!! And sorry once again for the short chapter, am not functioning as well as usual. Isn't Rumil so bouncy? I think so. He's almost as fluffy-bunny as I am!!!! And Haldir is displaying a fluffy-bunny side, as well. Yay! Here's to fluffy bunny Lorien Elves!!!!  
  
In response to reviews:  
  
Cheysuli: Meh, really? I thought your personal favorite was Legolas/Haldir. *Tahlmorra lujalla mei wiccan, cheysu*. Read the book that that line comes from? Cos it would be a cool place for your name to come from... ^^.  
  
Silvawen the Elf Crumpet: Here! More! ^^. Your reviews are so constant, they always make me smile when I read them. I try not to update a chapter before you review, so good thing you review so constantly! Hahaha... meep! Having a fluffy bunny day, I'm afraid... I had a three day weekend, cos stupid teachers don't know how to teach a class and now the whole school's teachers are being retaught. - -;;; yea. And these are the people who are supposed to be sending me to high school? Hello!!! We aren't even past the adjective yet! Help! Is there anyone out there? Lol... m' fine... EXCEPT I HAVE JUST BEEN FORCED TO READ 'WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS' FOR THE THIRD TIME IN CLASS!!!!! AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! (begins to beat her head against a watermelon)  
  
Checkmate: @_@ i am compelled to write... @_@ compelled! ^^. Lol. Nice to have you review again!!!! Oh, and don't let the bounciness of Haldir & co. fool you, I still have plenty of angsty darkness and awfulness to wreak upon my pet characters. Ho ho ho ho ho... :}  
  
Aeneas: :) Thanx a tun! Mwah, air-kiss!  
  
leggylover: U like it? It is slash, tho, to warn you if you're a slash-hater. ^^. Probably not, seeing as how I say it's slash quite a lot... don't worry about the being lost bit. My muses are even confusing ME.  
  
blue jeans baby: Thank you!!!!!!!!!! I luv giving out cliffies.... ^^.  
  
Legolas19: Haldir, of course. We all know they're predestined...  
  
Keeper of the Dreams: Spot on! Yep, that was foreshadowing. (shifty eyes) My muses will probably kill me for giving that away...  
  
Byex!!!! 


	4. Windy

A/n: Groan, I just looked back and saw how wretched the last chapter was. (weeps in frustration) As a sort of apology, I hereby present this next chapter. ;_;. Weep. Oh, and I'm really really sorry about the remarkable lack of updates on my part. Really! It's school. Again, sorry and if anyone is still reading, I thank you tremendously.  
  
Disclaimer: Okay, maybe I don't own it. But Legolas's clone is mine, all mine!!!!! An' so is Haldir's clone, an' Aragorn's clone, an'... um... yeah... Well, I do own the OCs.  
  
Oh!!! And, ppl!!!! Check out the work of my mates, Nienna5 and The Lady ~Elentari! They write het, but Nienna's is good het (sorry i had to leave you out, kat, but you haven't updated in an age)  
  
Chapter Four: Windy  
  
Legolas shuddered as a gust of cold wind hit him, and leaned onto Erin's side. She placed an arm about him, because she was cold as well.  
  
Erin hated the cold. She could still see, in her mind's eye, the fresh blood on the snow. "Don't eat me," she whispered involuntarily. Legolas shivered again and she hugged him.  
  
He looked at her with confused eyes. She smiled reassuringly.  
  
"It's okay," she said calmly. "I'll protect you from the shadows. They won't get near you like they did me." Legolas smiled back.  
  
Watching the scene, Gwaloth seethed. //Even insane, she still clings to the cunn like a leech.//  
  
Erin looked straight at her, and Gwaloth was given the vaguely disturbing feeling that her thoughts were being read.  
  
"Stay away," Erin said clearly, her eyes fierce and hard. "I won't let you near my little bird. I won't let you swallow him whole." Her arms tightened about Legolas, clearly showing she was referring to him. Gwaloth stared incredulously at her.  
  
"Erin, get away from him. Now."  
  
Erin jutted her chin out stubbornly. "You can't hear me so I won't hear you," she said sweetly, with a deathly cold glare. "I do not hear you. I do not see you. You do not exist."  
  
"Erin!," exclaimed Gwaloth, alarmed. "Let go of him, NOW! Or I'll... set the shadows on you!"  
  
Erin jumped away from Legolas as if burned. She looked up at Gwaloth, trembling. "No! No! No!" she screamed, eyes wide and white with fear.  
  
Gwaloth sneered down at her. "I will. You have been a bad little ward, Erin. Shall I call the shadows and make them eat you up?"  
  
"No! No!" Erin began to cry. Gwaloth glared angrily.  
  
"Then for the sake of the Valar you will BEHAVE!!!"  
  
Erin nodded, pale as a sheet. Gwaloth sighed, and knelt down beside her. "I don't like frightening you, Erin. Please, obey my orders when I first issue them. They are for your own good, and Legolas's. You have shown very dangerous behavior in your past, and your more dangerous side could come out of you and try to strangle the cunn. It is for his safety as well as your own." Erin nodded once again, and huddled into a ball, silent as a ghost. Gwaloth smiled down at her.  
  
"Okay. I won't ever threaten you again, Erin, I promise. Looks like we can be friends now, huh?"  
  
"Sure." Erin's voice was flat and toneless. Her mouth was agreeing with Gwaloth, but her eyes were screaming one word:  
  
Liar.  
  
Gwaloth ignored it, and went over to sit by Legolas. She smiled sweetly at him. "How are you, Legolas?" she asked brightly. He didn't answer. He just smiled at her.  
  
"Oh, feeling good I see! Hungry, though, aren't you? You must be. Come on, let's get you some food." Legolas hesitated, and pointed to Erin with a wordless question. Gwaloth scorned his questioning look.  
  
"She's not hungry, Legolas. And anyway, her eating times are different from yours. All of you crazed ones are fed at different times. Come on."  
  
With a shrug, Legolas walked behind Gwaloth to the fireside, where the guards were eating. They had paid no attention to the whole scene; it was their job to be discreet and they were content that Gwaloth knew what was best for Erin and Legolas. Legolas had not really comprehended any of what Gwaloth said, but some hidden memory made him trust her utterly. She might look mean sometimes, but she did everything for his and Erin's good.  
  
Legolas took a chunk of warm bread and slowly began to chew. When Gwaloth wasn't looking, he offered a piece to Erin. She took it and began to gnaw on it ravenously. He smiled. The lady Gwaloth must have just been confused. After all, Erin didn't look hungry ever, so she might not have been.  
  
Erin was too skinny to tell. Abstractly, Legolas wondered why he could remember her name and Gwaloth's, but he pushed the thought away. He could not think for too long on one thing, or it could become a memory. Their names were burned into his mind, however, and he was almost afraid of it...  
  
He repeated his mantra in his head. Do not make a sound. Do not remember a thing. And no matter who you meet, they will be your enemies. I am the only one you can trust.  
  
Erin's fire-red hair was matted and hung over her white skin, nose, mouth, and eyes. She was feeling awful, because the cat had taken away her little bird and might eat it alive. Tears ran down her cheeks at the thought, and she chewed half-heartedly on the bread she had been given. Nasty cat.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Haldir sat in a languid position on his favourite chair, limbs askew. He sighed as he remembered that he had to go down to the patrol in a few hours. He only had a short while to rest.  
  
Sitting up a bit, he began to admire his handiwork. He had constructed a hammock-bed on four posts, nearly as good as a real bed, in one corner of his talan. On it was a thick, pillow-like matress and full bedding, including a pillow with a pillowcase. There was also a fresh pitcher of water on a table, with an extra mug. Normally, Haldir only kept one mug. But the new occupant would doubtlessly need one. After all, they were so high up in the boughs of the tree that it would be a grueling hike to go back and forth between the kitchensand the fountains. Haldir had chosen this location for his talan for the solitude, but it did make living a bit difficult.  
  
He got up slowly from his chair, and, with a sigh of contented exhaustion, flopped down on his bed to nap. Outside his talan, a few flakes of snow whistled by before hitting the Lady's magical barrier and melting.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Legolas sighed and looked blankly out of his hood at the cold world. He shuddered, wishing that it were time to stop for the day so that a fire could be lit. Fire... no! He couldn't think, couldn't remember.  
  
After all, he had been commanded not to remember, and he must obey that command.  
  
Gwaloth seemed to sense his conflict, and patted him warmly on the shoulder. "Are you all right?" she asked gently, eyes warm. Legolas nodded numbly.  
  
"I'll bet you're cold, huh." Legolas nodded again, his jaw clenched to keep his teeth from chattering. Gwaloth gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder once more.  
  
"It's all right. We'll be in Lorien by tomorrow, and the Lady's magic makes the leaves stay on the trees and the wind stay warm. It is the most beautiful place in the world. I can't wait for you to see it." Legolas smiled at her.  
  
Across from Gwaloth, Erin rode on her horse. She was not preoccupied with the cold; in fact, her cloak had nearly slipped all the way off as she attempted to mimic the wingbeats of migrating geese far above them. Legolas pointed at her with a wry look. Gwaloth spun around, and gasped.  
  
"Erin! Oh, dear," she said in a tired tone as she nudged her mount over to Erin's side and began to help her put the cloak back on. Securing it with a firm tug, Gwaloth let her horse step away again, and grinned at Erin.  
  
"Are you pretending to fly, Erin?" she asked in a secretive tone. Erin smiled sweetly.  
  
"No, I *am* flying! Look at me!" Erin cheerfully spread her 'wings' again, and Gwaloth chuckled.  
  
"Well, at least your cloak isn't falling off this time!" Erin laughed.  
  
"Thank you for fixing my feathers," Erin said kindly, a few minutes later. "If you hadn't stuck them back on, they would have frozen that way and I would have fallen down, down, down and hit the earth with a thud!" She smacked her palms together to emphasize the last word. Gwaloth looked at her with bright eyes.  
  
"You're welcome. I certainly would not want you to go *thud*," she said seriously. Erin laughed.  
  
"Because, if I hit the ground, I would have died!" she said with the same apparent merriment. Gwaloth sighed, and shook her head.  
  
"Silly, I would have caught you before you hit the ground."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, really. Brr! It's certainly very cold here. Are your feathers keeping you warm enough, bird?" Erin nodded enthusiatically, and began to chirp and tweet like a robin. Gwaloth smiled again. She turned to Legolas.  
  
"What about you?" she asked quietly. "Are you warm enough?" Legolas only shivered. Gwaloth pouted prettily. "Poor baby."  
  
The two twins, Hastel and Ryune, were sharing the same saddle. They were thin enough to fit. Gwaloth slowed her horse to back up to them, and began to chat with them. They began to look a good deal more cheerful.  
  
Erin smiled fondly at Gwaloth's back. "Such a nice little girl," she mused to herself. "But definitely off her rocker. Any damn fool can see I'm not bird."  
  
Legolas only laughed, a silent motion that left his mouth open with no sound coming out of it. In an instant, Erin went completely silent and started to mouth her words instead of speaking them; miming his movements exactly.  
  
He rolled his eyes at her and returned to facing the path.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Haldir chugged down a glass of wine relentlessly, searching for the bottom. Next to him, Rumil hiccupped and rubbed his nose morosely. He took Haldir's glass away from him when he had finished his chugging.  
  
"You're drinking too much," Rumil slurred, melancholy still in his eyes. Haldir laughed raucously, and slapped him on the back.  
  
"Oh, you're just gloomy because I'm winning." Rumil glared at him.  
  
"I'm quite sure you cheated, somewhere along the line," he said seriously, an adorable puzzled look coming over his brow. Haldir shrugged.  
  
"Stalling!"  
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Then let's get on with it, shall we? What do you have left to bet?"  
  
"Err... I think I have some wine from Mirkwood," he admitted with reluctance. Haldir stared at him in shock.  
  
"You had Mirkwood wine all this time and you didn't TELL me?!" he yelled indignantly, gesturing poignantly with an uncorked bottle.  
  
Orophin sighed and looked at his two brothers, rolling his eyes when Haldir managed to spill half the contents of an old red wine onto the very white floor. "Great," he muttered under his breath. "Now it looks like someone bled to death in my talan."  
  
Hellë, another quiet observer, shrugged eloquently. "I suppose they can work out their hangovers tomorrow morning by sandpapering it out," he suggested in a quiet voice.  
  
Orophin sighed, and looked at his talan floor. "But they've papered it so many times before... I'm afraid they'll sand it right through!" Hellë stared.  
  
"How many times have they spilled wine on the floor?"  
  
"Well. Let me think... there was the red wine two weeks ago, and the purplish one before that. About a month ago I seem to remember they brought up some orange carbonated junk sent up from the hobbits; I had to peel them off the ceiling! Then there was the red wine three months ago; they spilled so much of it that it took four hours to sand deep enough. Oh, and then, just five months ago, they threw a drinking party and invited their friends to bring their strongest wines... and then the white wine before that..."  
  
Hellë gulped. "Ouch."  
  
Orophin sighed. "Sometimes I think that it would be better if I just gave them my room and lived in a spare talan."  
  
Meanwhile, the argument over the latest bottle was becoming decidedly more heated in the other corner of the room. Orophin winced as they knocked over yet another glass, and prayed that the one they were tussling over wouldn't crack under the pressure.  
  
The gods, apparently, were feeling kind today. Orophin sighed with relief. His darling brothers got a tad bit on the violent side whenever they got drunk. Sadly, they insisted on getting drunk at least once a month, with vivid enthusiasm. Orophin smiled. But they had been going at it harder tonight, for the new inmates of Lorien would arrive in the afternoon the following day, and once those burdens were upong them... they would definitely not be able to drink for quite a while, possibly over a year.  
  
Orophin had almost been able to hear Haldir's thought process as he absorbed the news from Galadriel's messenger: *Oh, #$%&*, they're arriving tomorrow? I still have so much to do... wait, she didn't act like they were going to leave. Ever. OH VALAR!!!! I'll never be inebriated again!*  
  
What was funny was that Rumil had decided to get himself very, very drunk at the exact same time Haldir did.  
  
Orophin sighed wistfully into his glass. The he grinned like a devil. "Ah, what the hell!" Orophin decided as he joined the fray with his brothers, scrabbling after an unused wine bottle and chugging away.  
  
Hellë sighed, and shrugged sheepishly. "Well, as my human acquaintances are wont to say; "When in Rome..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Haldir stood stiffly at the side of the path that went through Lorien, at attention. The procession seemed to be taking a rather long tme to make its way through the trees, and not for the first time, Haldir wished nervously that they would hurry up. He had been nervous about this for the whole day, from when he woke up -with the worst hangover of his life- to now. His fingernails were already worn down to stubs.  
  
//This isn't going to be easy. I hate first meetings anyway; but I'm going to have to be spending quite a long time with this Prince. Oh, Valar, please let there be justice in this cruel world and make them hurry up!//  
  
It was nearly fifteen minutes until the procession stopped, a few feet in front of Haldir. The air was cold, and the wind was none too gentle, but at least there were no snowflakes falling. The Lady's barrier ensured that much, at least.  
  
A few of the elves were shivering. Haldir stepped forward slowly, and cleared his throat.  
  
"Well come, my Mirkwood fellows. The Lady has been expecting you for quite a while. If you would please bring the afflicted elves forward, we can have them settled into their new quarters immediately."  
  
A group of five came forward, one of which was obviously the caretaker. She curtsied, and spoke through chattering teeth.  
  
"These are my charges, milord. Please, if they're misbehaving or acting strangely, call for me and I will try to help. This is Erin, former noblewoman," she said, bringing forth a slender woman who was muttering sadly to herself. Hellë stepped forward, and gently took her arm. Erin did not appear to notice, but he led her away anyway, talking in a low, soothing voice.  
  
"These are the twins." Orophin and Rumil stepped forward, and they each took the arm of a twin, gently steering them in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
"And this is the Prince, Legolas Thranduilion of Eryn Lasgalen." A small, thin figure stepped forward, and their hood was lifted.  
  
//I suppose there is justice, after all,// Haldir thought weakly, as he walked forward to take the hand of the Elf that was standing before him. Although he seldom admitted it, he preferred the company of men, and this person was...  
  
Perfect. The epitome of androgyny, he stood about five and a half feet tall with long, golden hair framing his face. His mouth was a soft, pale pink, curving and certain to be adorable if he pouted. His skin was as pale as the moon, and his cheekbones were high enough to emphasize his eyes.  
  
All right, maybe not so perfect.  
  
The eyes were blank, devoid of life, of awareness; devoid of anything that could possibly be worth saving. They showed to interest in life or any emotion over being sent away from home. They were eyes of ice. Cold. Hard. Uncaring. When Haldir looked down into the depths of Legolas's eyes, he could see nothing but darkness.  
  
Haldir shivered, and then snapped out of his reverie. This was no time to fantasize about an insane Elf Prince. Clenching his jaw in determination, Haldir led Legolas up the stairs to his talan.  
  
Legolas followed him trustingly and willingly, but he was more like a marble statue than a living being. He was unquestioning and totally uncaring, content that Haldir would see to things.  
  
He was also as silent as a ghost, as Haldir shortly found out. No matter what he said, Legolas showed no sign of having heard him. Haldir gritted his teeth and fell silent.  
  
//So, Prince Legolas, content to be looked after like a doll, eh? You're in for a rude awakening, my friend, a very rude awakening.//  
  
*****tbc*****  
A/n: Sorry, but my muses are abandoning me and I felt that this was a good sort of way to leave off while I chase them all down with butterfly nets...  
A/n: Bit longer than the previous snippets. (big, wolvish grin) Wahahahaha! Gwaloth is such a confusing person! I am so EVIL for creating her!  
  
In response to reviews:  
  
Silvawen the Elf Crumpet: ^^. You're so nice. Unfortunately, my mother is a security Nazi and she'd probably leave me at any arranged meeting spot trussed up like a turkey with a paper stuck to my forehead reading : 'This is a Traitor. Fire at Will.' To make a long story short, my mum doesn't want me to tell anyone online (that I haven't spent over three years getting acquainted with) where I am. Bugger mum. (gets cross) Well, we'll be staying in Devon, but I can only say 'around Christmas' cos otherwise Fate would have a lark and cause an insane obsessive homocidal maniac to hack into your e-mail and decide to kill me. At least according to my mum's perspective.  
Grr.... Luv anyways!  
  
Wynjara: Hai!!!!! Nice to meet you, thank you for your review. Hope you review again!!!!!  
  
Cheysuli: Ah-HAH!!!! I knew it! Chronicles of the Cheysuli!!!! Well, the weird syaing means: The fate of a man is in the hands of the gods, and is accompanied by a palm raised towards the heavans to show the 'in the hands of the gods' part. To say it the short way, just 'Tahlmorra' will do, with the gesture.  
And, no, no one in Lorien has met Leglolas previously. I luv Rumil, he's so sweet and bouncy.  
  
Keeper of the Dreams: ^^. Hyper!!!!!!!! Well, I hope u like this chappie!!!!!  
  
Legolas19: Here we go. And, to give a hint: There's someone else who Legolas used to love... ! Eeeep!!!!!! Help!!!!! My muses are running after me with harpoons for giving that away!  
  
Lady of Legolas: Three reviews, how nice! See, Legolas's problem is that he's apparently scared to death of something, but he refuses to speak or make a sound. So everyone's worried. Bai bai!!!!!!!  
  
Cerasi: Hello! (blinks) short term memory... have I met you before? Sorry if I have... Ep! Too many reviews! (faints)  
  
Oh!!!! And I must apologize: Gwaloth really does have a nice side. _ Trust me, my muses are the only ones who want it that way... I was never good at writing !happy! girls... want to give her a twisted past or some flaw of a sort that won't give the plot away!!!!!!!! But NO!!!!! She's a Mary Sue person-type-thing. Ick... muses, you owe me big time. 


	5. Lorien and Lace

A/n: *does a happy review dance* YAY!!! I got REVIEWS!!!! Even though I haven't updated in months!!!!  
*coughs* Well! I am certainly not going to stop writing this one, all my worried reviewers. I have lots more planned. ^^. And I even have the next story lined up for after this one... lol!!! YAY!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm not dead. So I'm not Tolkien. Figure it out.  
  
Chapter Five: Lorien and Lace  
  
Legolas stood up slowly, and reached for a sturdy branch to keep his balance. Erin was standing three feet below, on a lower branch. He smiled, and used his other hand to wave to her. She waved back to him.  
  
He was safe, very safe, here in the boughs of the tree. No one could sneak up on him, no one could hurt him, and no one would find him if he was quiet. Legolas smiled, and drew out a knife he had slipped out of the armoury. Hearing a small rustle, he quickly glanced down at Erin. She pointed up.  
  
Legolas nodded and moved over so that she could come up. She looked at the knife in fascination. Legolas gave himself a quick slash across his palm, and then offered the dagger blade-first to her.  
  
She took it.  
  
The bark of the tree was grey and brown and ridged harshly. The leaves were broad and a deep, healthy green. The flowers were small and pale, with curved petals.  
  
Except, of course, where they were splashed with blood.  
  
The two elves sat down cross-legged on the limb. Erin cut at her wrist, and then she clamped her mouth down across the cut and started to gulp greedily. A few drops of scarlet liquid ran down her hands, and onto her shirt. Legolas looked at her in suprise. She smiled at him, her teeth stained crimson and her lips sanguine. Her eyes were looking at things that were not there.  
  
"It is delicious, Elfling. I first tried it when the shadows forced it down my throat. I struggled." She shrugged. "Foolish of me. It tastes better than anything in the entire world."  
  
Legolas smiled, and decided that he could forgive Erin for being noisy and rude. She was nice. That was what counted. He had forgotten all about strength testing now, and just wanted to see what the sticky redness tasted of.  
  
A flash of light from the blade. The sound of iron cleaving flesh. A mouth being laid upon a cut. Sucking.  
  
It was in this position and during this activity in which Haldir found his charge.  
  
It took Haldir a few minutes to register what Legolas and Erin were doing. But then, after blinking, he realized what was going on. He scrambled up the tree and snatched the knife away from the two of them, and glared at Erin.  
  
"What do you think you're DOING? Where's Helle? Don't you know that what you're doing is disgusting?!" Haldir screamed, arms clenched at his sides. Erin blinked blankly at him.  
  
Haldir felt his temper worsening. "You!" he spat. "Can you even understand what I say?!" He had taken his eyes off of the Prince for two seconds, during which he ran away. He had spent the entire afternoon searching Lorien from top to bottom, worried to no end, and here he was with Erin, drinking his own blood! He was furious with the both of them.  
  
Erin cocked her head to one side, looking at him curiously. After a few minutes, she took a determined look and opened her mouth, her eyes shining with courage. "Hello," she said firmly. "Who are you?"  
  
Haldir looked at her in shock. //But, she has met me before....//  
  
Erin stared at her wrists in shock. She touched the blood gingerly with a pointed finger. "Where did this come from?" she asked in an odd voice. "How peculiar. It's so red..." She giggled, and then hiccuped a bubble of blood.  
  
It took Haldir a few minutes to break out of his shock and lead the two Elves down from the tree.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Legolas sighed and looked at Haldir's eyes as they sat in the said Elf's talan. He had been angry with the Elf earlier, but now he had forgotten why, and didn't care anymore. Haldir seemed worried about him, but he didn't know why. After all, he could only remember up to when Haldir brought him back to the talan. He couldn't really remember what he had been doing before that.  
  
From the shadows, a dark figure chuckled. Then the apparition walked back to where Gwaloth slept, and sat in her room. It was the only place he had an excuse to be, after all. He could pretend he was Gwaloth, anyways. He was a soprano, like her, and their voices had the same timbre. And it was too dark to tell.  
  
The Prince was so entertaining to watch. Of course, it was also quite fun to play with his mind...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: *is proud of self* YAY! Done a short chappie. *does another dance* Review please, and yes I do have a plot in mind!  
Muse: Hah. I'm the only one who knows the plot, though.  
Shut up, Muse! Ahem. *bows* Thank you if you reviewed!!! Bai bai now! 


	6. Inside and Outside

A/n: Well, Yay!!! I updated, I updated, I UPDATED!!!!!!!!!! *does a dance* To tell you all the honest truth, *is there any other kind?* I cried when I saw all those reviews in my inbox. *sniffles* It was like the gods had decided I was a good person after all and they weren't going to try to kill me with an icicle from the ceiling!  
Oh, and as one reviewer asked, I present the story of how I got my muses:  
One day in June, I was sitting outside my box, which I live in, as some of you may already know. It's a good strong box; a bed was carried in it, so it's nice and roomy. I have saran wrap on the outside to keep out the rain, and on the inside I have nice thick shag carpeting. And internet connection, naturally. Well, I was sitting there, soaking up the sun, when I suddenly noticed a group of rather odd people standing across the road, looking lost. When they caught sight of me, they withdrew into a huddle.  
The next thing I knew, they had come over, putting chloroform against my nose. I think I blacked out.  
I woke up in a desolate place, full of junk and grey slate and used bottles of hairspray. They were standing next to me, staring at me intently.  
ME: Uhhh.... who the hell are you?  
Them: We're muses.  
ME: Um. Okaaay... but isn't my writing good enough already?  
One Muse: *snort* *looks over my previously written works* Hell, no.  
ME: And you kidnapped me because... ?  
One: Okay. Can we work out a deal? Your writing sucks. We're muses.  
ME: *blinks*  
One: *waits patiently for me to grasp the blatantly obvious*  
~three hours later~  
ME: Oh, so you're offering to help me?  
One: Took you long enough! Well, yes. But we're kind of homeless at the moment.  
ME: Ummm...  
One: I'll take that as a yes!! Come on, gang, we're moving in!!!!  
Raucous cheers rose from the assembled weirdos. I sighed. Little did I know these oddball muses would soon take over my life.  
  
Ahem. That was a wee bit long, but I enjoy writing odd stuff like that. Well, on to the chapter!!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Sigh... I wish I did, I truly wish I did.  
  
Chapter Six: Inside and Outside  
  
Legolas sat at the window of Haldir's talan, wishing he could forget the accursed Elf. But for some reason, Haldir stuck in his mind like no one else. Not even Gwaloth, or Erin, inspired this. He leaned his forehead against the windowpane. It was not snowing, but it was deathly cold outside. The wind was screaming like a dying animal, and the trees were groaning.  
  
Legolas sighed. Poor Haldir had to stand outside in the frigid weather, all day today. That wasn't what Legolas had thought of as what they would be doing in the talan today. He was all alone. Truthfully, he had hoped that Haldir would stay and talk to him. He enjoyed the sound of the Elf's chatter, though half of it was beyond his scope of understanding.  
  
Lost in a daydream, Legolas tried to imagine what Lorien would look like in the summer when the air was golden, and the sun was shining. He sighed. //The summer is also when the Dark Man comes... and he will be angry with me if I have disobeyed him and remembered. Well, at least I have not made a sound...//  
  
The mantra rose, unbidden, into the back of his mind. Do not speak. Do not sing. Do not cry. Do not scream. Do not remember, they will betray you if you do. Do not make a sound.  
  
Legolas shivered with pleasure. The memory of the pain was... beautiful... the pain he had grown to beg for and taught to love... the blood.  
  
Blinking, he looked down into the courtyard and frowned. There was a small animal on the ground. He peered closer. It was a baby bird. His eyes widened. The bird was going to die.  
  
Legolas got up, eyes white with shock. Birds were not evil like humans and Elves and the two-leggers. Birds were beautiful.  
  
Slowly, a thought began to form in the middle of his crazed mind. //The bird... must not die. The bird must not die. It never hurt, it never betrayed. It is worthy of the pain of life. It needs to live. It must live.//  
  
Legolas stumbled over to the door and turned the handle. The door opened partially, but is was jammed. Legolas's face contorted with frustration as he slammed against it. Finally, it opened. He darted outside, and the wind slammed the door shut behind him. It also in turn slammed him into the door. Legolas shuddered in pain.  
  
It was cold. So cold... and the wind was like knives... He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from screaming in agony. He looked down. The baby bird had struggled over to the base of a tree, but the wind kept blowing it away. Legolas's eyes went black. He slowly lowered himself down onto all fours, and crept down the wooden ladder, shaking from the cold and the wind.  
  
It buffeted him in the face like a fist, pounding him backwards. He gritted his teeth. //Bird must live.//  
  
It took an eternity. The wind was shrieking, making an unholy din in his ears and blowing his hair back from his face, chilling him. His clothes were of no use, as the wind bit right through them. They were too thin to protect his wraithlike form as he dug bleeding fingers into the frozen ground. His nose felt like it was going to fall off, it was so cold. His ears were a deep red, and his eyelashes were iced over, making him squint. He was numb all over, and the wind hurt like all hell.  
  
Finally he reached the bird. Quaking with exhaustion, pain, and the deep cold that was worming through his whole body, he reached out to pick it up. His fingers refused to move quickly, the blood on them freezing. Quickly, he stuffed the bird into his tunic, where he was still a little warm.  
  
He walked over to the tree, and looked up. The nest was in a hollow, and it was awfully, terribly, and damningly- completely out of his reach. He stared stupidly at it for a moment, and then tried to scrabble up the smooth bark. It did him no good. The tree was slippery as ice.  
  
He stood, leaning into the tree, and cried angrily. Hot tears burned him as they dripped down his face and froze. He looked up again, saw the nest, and slid to the ground, crying.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Haldir was walking back from patrol when he saw Legolas, huddled over next to a tree. Haldir could have screamed. He walked angrily over to where the prince sat, dressed in thin clothing. Honestly, the Elf had no common sense. Haldir had dressed for the weather, in a thick cloak and wearing heavy layers of padding underneath his light leather armour.  
  
He stalked over to the Prince, intending to simply pick him up and drag him back into the warmth. But then he saw, with a sense of numbness, that Legolas was crying.  
  
He walked over quickly, and knelt beside him. "What's wrong, Legolas?" he asked gently, taking the Elf's hands between his and warming them. Legolas looked up at him wearily. He stood up, and took a small baby bird out of his tunic.  
  
Legolas turned, and faced the tree, pointing to a nest that was out of his reach. He gripped the trunk between his hands and tried to climb up again, but it was no use. He slid right back down again. Legolas sat on the ground again, and two tears spilled out of his eyes. They froze on his cheeks almost instantly.  
  
Haldir looked at him in shock as he cried over the bird, shielding it from the wind and trying to keep it warm. Haldir gritted his teeth, and reached down. He picked Legolas up, much to the Elf's shock, and lifted him onto his shoulders. Now, he could reach the nest.  
  
Legolas carefully placed the bird in the nest, underneath the wings of its mother and father. They cooed at him. He smiled, and jumped down off of the Marchwarden's shoulders.  
  
He was crying again, but this time he was smiling. He looked up at Haldir and, impulsively, hugged him.  
  
Haldir was touched. He looked down at the Prince, and then up at the bird. Legolas had given him a look of joy. But what was more important, he had had eyes that lived. They had not been lifeless, as they always were. They had been a deep, clear, crystal blue, and they shone like saphirre gems. Haldir wrapped his arms hesitantly about the prince, and carried him back up the ladder.  
  
//Maybe there's something in him that's worth saving, after all.// Haldir smiled. He didn't really care whether or not anyone gave up on Legolas like his parents had, and like everyone else had. He knew he would never, not as long as there was a chance of seeing those eyes again.  
  
Those eyes would haunt him forever.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas rested wearily against Haldir's chest as he was carried up to the talan. He smiled softly to himself. The bird had been worth saving. It had been innocent, full of life, and it had not ever hurt a thing. Legolas was the same as the bird. He was innocent, and his soul was full of life. He, too, had never hurt anything. But the Dark One had told him how the others were trying to hurt him, betray him, and in the end, kill him.  
  
Legolas looked up at Haldir. Maybe Haldir was worth trusting, too, and maybe he wasn't. But something deep inside of him was crying out for him, crying out for the trust and the touch of this strange Elf that would not stay out of his mind.  
  
Content with that thought, he drifted to sleep in the Marchwarden's arms. He had no idea that they were being watched.  
  
In the shadows, the Dark Man growled.  
  
*****tbc*****  
A/n: I really wish I could respond to reviews, but that would give away too much. Only, to Silvawen: YAY you reviewed!!!!!! I was waiting for you, but the next chapter was screaming to be put up! Oh, and to everyone? Thank you. *bows* You really made my day. I love you all!!!!! 


	7. First Words

A/n: My muses are really whipping me. I swear. I have the scars to prove it. They want me to write and they want me to write NOW. 0_0 They scare me... lol, I suppose I scare them too with my bizarre writing.  
  
Dillclaimer: I own that dill pickle over there. Yep. Mine.  
  
Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Lord of the Rings. But my fairy godmother left me lying on the side of the road in a bad part of town with my hands and feet bound and by mouth gagged and a blindfold over my eyes the last time I ever saw her, which was when I got my box and my muses. *grins*  
  
Chapter Seven: First Words  
  
Legolas woke up slowly from the heat of Haldir's talan. There was a fire in the grate. He looked around. He was in bed, and the pale afternoon sky had dark clouds whipping across it. His fingers were not moving right. He looked down at them. They were bandaged.  
  
Legolas recalled with terrifying clarity the events that had happened earlier. His eyes widened. He... remembered. No. NO!  
  
//This is not happening. It is a dream. I do not remember, I do not, I do not, I do not!// he cried in his mind. But no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he remembered every moment that Haldir had been with him.His eyes widened. //no...// he thought blankly... //I will be punished... oh, I will be punished. I wept. I trusted. I remember. That is three of the rules I have broken.//  
  
His eyes grew blank with fear. //And there will be none of the good pain. There will be none of the soft knives or the gentle needles. There will be the torture pain. There will be the whips and the brands and the terrible pain in my head.//  
  
Legolas curled up into a ball and shuddered. But even then, Haldir stayed in his mind, and Legolas was afraid. Haldir was going to betray him. Why couldn't he forget? Why did trying to forget hurt?  
  
Haldir strode back into his talan, and noticed Legolas. "Legolas! I brought lunch back with me," he called over. Legolas remained huddled on his bed. Haldir frowned.  
  
"Legolas?" He walked over to the bedside and sat down. Legolas looked at him from between his folded arms, and shook his head. Two tears escaped his eyes. Haldir was worried.  
  
"Are you all right, Legolas?" he asked in a concerned voice. "Should I find Gwaloth?" Legolas shook his head miserably. Not even Gwaloth could save him from the Dark One's wrath. She tried, though. He shook his head again. Haldir placed an arm about Legolas's shoulders.  
  
"Please, tell me what's wrong," he asked pleadingly. Legolas sat up, and then began to sob, tears pouring out of his eyes. His sobs were audible this time, and he clutched Haldir's tunic, weeping.  
  
Haldir just let him cry. Sometimes he knew what to do, and sometimes he didn't. But right now, he knew that Legolas needed to cry, and so he just sat there and was an object of support.  
  
After the better part of half an hour, Legolas stopped, sniffling into silence. He just leaned against Haldir, and the two of them sat that way for a long time.  
  
Then Legolas looked over at the food and pointed at it, and Haldir yelped that it had been getting cold. And they ate.  
  
Legolas sighed and sat back after finishing the food on his plate.  
  
Haldir sat across from Legolas. The Elf had shown a brief compassion. Could he be saved? //I hope so.//  
  
"Come on now, Legolas," he said patiently after the silence had grown. "Make a noise."  
  
Legolas shook his head fiercely. No.  
  
Haldir sighed. "Why not?"  
  
Legolas squirmed in his seat, and looked away. He reached out in the direction of a piece of paper and a stick of charcoal. Haldir nodded. "You can use those, if you want to." Legolas grabbed a sheet of parchment, and began to write.  
  
:I must never make a sound, or he will be angry.:  
  
Haldir frowned. "Who is he?" Legolas scrawled an answer, and pushed the paper over.  
  
:The Dark One.:  
  
Haldir scratched the side of his head. //That's helpful.// "Legolas, can you tell me who the Dark One is?" Legolas shook his head, and took back the paper.  
  
:He will be angry if I tell. He will punish me and it will hurt.:  
  
Haldir sighed. "No he will not. I am here to protect you from him, whoever he is. He cannot harm you here." Legolas sat still as a statue for a long time. The sun moved slowly, the leaves rustled. The hour grew late. The light moved slowly across his face, and onto the floor. He sat, not moving, and not appearing to breathe. The dusk settled, and the birds began to call out weakly, assuring each other that they had lived the day and still claimed their territory. The smell from the dinner cooking in the kitchens sent tendrils up to the talans. Legolas sat as still as a stone. Haldir grew alarmed.  
  
"Legolas... ?" he asked in a worried voice. Legolas's eyes flickered. Slowly, he looked up and met Haldir's eyes. He opened his mouth hesitantly. It seemed like an eternity of silence passed before the word spilled from his mouth, a mere whisper that sounded as loud as a clap of thunder.  
  
"Promise?"  
  
Haldir nodded mutely. "I promise. Nothing will ever hurt you while I am here." Legolas nodded, and subsided.  
  
Haldir was well aware of the progress he had made. Legolas had made noise. He had even spoken a word. That would be enough for now, for him. If it wasn't enough for the rest of them, well, they could hang themselves. Legolas was getting better. He was coming out of his shell.  
  
//And that is worth everything. Hah, funny, Haldir. When did you fall in love with Legolas?//  
  
Legolas got up and looked outside. The wind was still blowing. He frowned, and paced the floor in frustation. Haldir sighed.  
  
"I hate being cooped up indoors. It must be a lot worse for you, though," Haldir said softly. Legolas grinned at him and nodded. Haldir smiled.  
  
"Do you want to tell me about Mirkwood?" Haldir asked curiously. Legolas opened his mouth, but no words came out. He sighed in frustration and took back the paper.  
  
:I never went outdoors. I was confined. I lived in my room, and outside the window I could see the trees and the butterlfies. Sometimes I would go out but I would get lost. Then I waited until I was found.:  
  
Haldir looked at Legolas in suprise. "But you're the Prince!"  
  
:So?:  
  
"So you're supposed to know your own city! What did they think you were, an animal?!"  
  
:I was shut up after they found me hurting myself with the knives to make myself stronger for the Dark One.:  
  
Haldir read it and then read it again. He turned from the page, trembling. "Whoever the Dark One is, he's sick and twisted. Why do you do what he tells you to?"  
  
Legolas looked sad. :I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to remember.:  
  
"Why not? Did the Dark One tell you not to? You must remember something!"  
  
Legolas wrinkled his nose. :I do not.:  
  
Haldir huffed. "Well if he ever comes here, I'll make sure he doesn't walk away alive." Legolas looked up at Haldir, alarmed.  
  
:Don't kill him. Please don't.:  
  
Haldir calmed down enough to sit down again. "And why not?" he asked through clenched teeth.  
  
:Because- I- I forget...:  
  
Haldir sighed and slumped back into his chair. "I'm sorry I'm reacting like this," he said with a small smile. "But the idea of some creep messing with you makes me want to scream. No one has the right to hurt you in any way, Legolas. Do you understand that?" He paused, and looked at Legolas. Legolas stared unblinkingly at him.  
  
:But what if I want them to? I have been taught to love the pain the Dark One gives me. I have begged for it.:  
  
Haldir's blood turned to ice in his veins. He blinked once, then twice. He looked at Legolas. "Did he rape you?" he asked hoarsely. Legolas shook his head.  
  
:No. He cannot. He uses only the knives and the needles when I have been good, and I am allowed to drink the blood.:  
  
Haldir sat back, relief in his face. "Thank the Valar for that. But what do you mean, bad?"  
  
:I must not make a sound. I must not remember a thing. I must not cry. I must not trust. I cannot, or I will be betrayed and they will hurt me.:  
  
Haldir shook his head. "Those are lies, Legolas. Lies. He has been lying to you. He's twisted and disgusting, and he wants to make you as pitiful as him. He's telling you lies."  
  
Legolas's eyes turned cold. :You cannot claim that someone is a liar and tell me to believe you. Why should you tell me the truth?:  
  
Haldir blinked.  
  
:Haldir, I do not know you. You do not know me. You want me to believe that the only person I have ever known is a liar and is lying to me. I think you are the liar. Why would you tell me the truth?: Haldir stared deeply into Legolas's eyes.  
  
"Because," he said slowly, "I do not want to see you hurt."  
  
:Why?:  
  
"I want you to get better."  
  
:Why?:  
  
"Because... because... just because, Legolas. Please trust me. I won't ever betray you. I won't hurt you. I couldn't."  
  
Legolas gazed unflinchingly back. He opened his mouth. "All right."  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: Ho ho ho, I left an evil cliffhanger! *of a sort*. Well, I hope that you review and you like.  
  
In response to Silvawen: You always brighten my day with your nice comments and you make me laugh. Goddess bless you. Oh, and I'm sorry I can't really answer any questions you have, because they would give away the plot. And Haldir isn't so bad in this one as he is in Intrigue... lol. 


	8. Speech

A/n: Hola, mis amigas, chicas! ¿Como estan ustedes? Estoy muy alegre, porque ¡yo no tengo tarea! Es muy bien, ¿verdad?  
... tu lees ahora, lo siento.  
  
*Hello, girfriendz, chicks! How are y'all? I'm wicked hyper, cuz I have no homework!!!!!! Ain't that AWESOME?  
... y'can read now, sorry.  
  
Disclaimer: All I own is my... my box. Everything else my parents gave me and will sell when I have finally moved out. Geez. Even my allowance money isn't mine. They gave it to me. NOTHING I OWN IS REALLY MINE!!!! AAAAAAGH!  
  
Chapter Eight: Speech  
  
Legolas smiled sweetly at the Lady Galadriel. She did not see it, though. She was busy, her eyes shut tightly and her jaw clenched.  
  
Finally, she gave a great sigh and slumped backwards. Celeborn caught her before she fell, and helped her over to her seat. Legolas blinked. He did not understand that she had been trying to tear down the crazed madness within his mind. He hadn't even felt it.  
  
Galadriel sighed deeply. "Legolas, you are slowly making progress out of the mire. But your thoughts-" She shuddered. "-are so chaotic, it is amazing that you can concentrate enough to listen to anyone, much less speak." She bowed her head with exhaustion.  
  
"It will take an age to untangle your mind. It is almost as though you have a firewall around it... Haldir, please, escort the Prince back to your rooms. The audience is officially over." Galadriel walked slowly out of the room, leaning on Celeborn's arm for support.  
  
Haldir sighed. //That means she can't help you, Legolas. She said it could take an age; but that is far too long for you to suffer.//  
  
Across the Hall, Erin stood thoughtfully. She turned to Hellë and tugged on his sleeve. "Sir? Could you please show me to my rooms?" she asked cordially. Hellë smiled wearily.  
  
"Erin, I am Hellë. You know me already, no need for such formality."  
  
Erin looked as though she had not heard him. She turned to the left. "Oh, hark, do you hear a cat wailing?"  
  
"Tis but the winds of your fancy making that noise, Erin."  
  
"What do I fancy? The wind?"  
  
"Well, I suppose not the water."  
  
"And what if my fancy is the water indeed though you say it is not? Hark, do you hear? It must be a cat."  
  
Hellë sighed. "It is the cat, then."  
  
"Never mind it is not. It is the lark singing outside of the window, searching for the body of his frozen mate."  
  
"How now! Is his mate frozen?"  
  
"Indeed she is, and her body lies in the courtyard."  
  
"Erin, milady, how did you come across such a ghastly sight?"  
  
"I slew her myself."  
  
"Did you?"  
  
"No." Erin smiled cordially. "Good sir, would you escort me to my rooms? I seem to have forgotten the way." Hellë nodded.  
  
Erin stopped as soon as they reached the door of Hellë's talan. She frowned, and looked about. Then she turned to Hellë.  
  
"I'm sorry. I seem to be lost. Could you take me home?" She gazed at him pitifully, tears streaking down her cheeks. Hellë shook his head.  
  
"I am sorry my lady. Your home is somewhere I cannot bring you."  
  
"I suppose I know why. It was taken by shadow and fear."  
  
"What shadow do you speak of?"  
  
"My own shadow, stretching over the ground before me even as we speak. Look, it has overcome that stair. Soon it shall overcome all of the world."  
  
"Is your shadow so mighty?"  
  
"Are the mighty so shadowed?"  
  
"Let us go indoors."  
  
"Yes, let's. What are we doing, standing on the threshold of my own house and not even opening the door?"  
  
"My apologies, My Lady. I must have been struck by a flighting fancy."  
  
"A fledgeling? But soft! We would not wish to waken its wrath once more! It may yet fly away if we are silent."  
  
"Indeed." Hellë opened the door and ushered Erin inside, removing her cloak and his own, shutting the door behind them, and hanging the two coats up in front of the fire. He took out a pair of fire tongs, and began to stir the flames higher.  
  
Erin leaned back in her chair and smiled like a serpent basking in the sun. A thoughtful expression began to grow upon her face. She turned to Hellë. "On a second thought," she said regally, "I shall allow you to keep this bird in your possession."  
  
Hellë smiled. "You are very kind, Erin."  
  
"Provided, of course, that you allow me to entertain myself with it."  
  
"Now, now, what would a Lady do with a common pigeon?"  
  
"O, fool, tis no pigeon! Tis a peacock, white and ostracized by the peahens. And for that matter I am not sure what I would do with it. I suppose I would teach it to talk. Did you know that you have a noose about your neck?"  
  
Hellë blinked. "I was not aware of the noose."  
  
"Oh, it is a crafty noose, and it will only tighten as your thoughts become in a deathly way."  
  
"I see. Then I shall not think of death, and the noose shall not tighten."  
  
"Unless," Erin said with a giggle, "I yank upwards on it."  
  
"You would kill me?"  
  
"With what?"  
  
"The noose!"  
  
"The noose? What noose?"  
  
"The noose that traps my neck."  
  
Erin paled. She leaned forward. "Heed my warning," she said in a very serious voice. Her eyes appeared perfectly sane. "Do not play in the realm of the shades."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Erin did not answer. Her eyes had gone cloudy again.  
  
"Hellë, be a dear and fetch me something to occupy myself with, would you? I become rather bored up here with nothing to do. Perhaps an animal?"  
  
Hellë smiled. "What sort of animal?"  
  
Erin frowned. "Never mind. I don't want an animal near me. I would prefer the company of a beast."  
  
"What is the difference between an animal and a beast?"  
  
"The first walks on two legs."  
  
"You would occupy yourself with a person?"  
  
"No. A beast." Erin smiled sweetly at him. "Hellë, would you mind getting me something to eat? For the first time in a while I feel hungry."  
  
Hellë smiled and nodded. He went over to the table by his bed and brought back a hunk of bread. Erin was sitting on the floor, meowing like a kitten. He sighed and knelt down.  
  
"Is there something you want to tell me, Erin?" he asked gently. Erin gazed at him innocently.  
  
"Meow."  
  
"Anything that I can understand?"  
  
Erin hissed, and batted at the bread in his hands, her fingers shaped into claw like hooks. Her violently green eyes were slitted and the pupils were dilated.  
  
Hellë smiled. "Hungry?"  
  
Erin mewed in frustration and sat with her hands on the floor and her back arched. She stared at him pensively for a few moments, and began to wash one of her 'forepaws'. Hellë laughed softly.  
  
"All right, pitya-mëoi (1). You may have some bread." He broke off a piece and held it out to her. She sniffed it daintily, and took it into her teeth. Then she looked up at him curiously as she chewed. She swallowed. She opened her mouth.  
  
"Meow," she said decisively. She leaned over and took the remainder of the bread between her teeth, and used her paws to maneuver it into different positions as she ate.  
  
Hellë reached out and patted her gently on the head. Sometimes she talked, and sometimes, like now, she would be something else. //And sometimes she "wakes up" from actions and can't remember anything.//  
  
Hellë smiled gently at her. She blinked, and began to make a purring noise. //One thing is for sure. Erin means no real harm to anyone. She has a good heart.//  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas walked unsteadily over to Haldir as he walked into the room. Haldir shook off his winter gear and began to put it away, but Legolas tugged on his arm urgently. Haldir looked curiously at him.  
  
Legolas gave him a sheet of paper. :What did Galadriel say? I am not good at speech in Quenya.: Haldir smiled.  
  
"She says that you are mad."  
  
Legolas frowned. "But..." he said softly. Haldir stood still, silently pleading that Legolas would speak.  
  
"But I don't think I'm mad," he said finally. Haldir shrugged.  
  
"Well, she said that there is a shield of boiling, mad thoughts covering your mind. One would only assume they're yours." Legolas frowned.  
  
"I... I suppose they must be... but... I cannot sense them. Perhaps they are my own." He looked down. //I'm scared.//  
  
//I have broken so many of the laws. I should be dead right now. But the Dark Man is probably waiting. Just waiting. He'll get me when Haldir's away. He'll get me for sure. Am I mad?//  
  
Haldir patted him on the shoulder. "How about you get some rest, and I'll go to get us a meal, all right?" He made as if to head towards the door. Legolas hesitated a moment.  
  
//Haldir's leaving. He's leaving. The Dark Man will get me! Haldir mustn't leave. He must not!// Legolas reached out and grabbed onto Haldir's arm. Haldir turned to him, a questioning look in his eyes.  
  
"Don't go," Legolas whispered, and two tears slipped out from his downcast eyes. "Don't leave me here all alone." More tears. "He'll come if you go. He'll come and he'll punish me."  
  
Haldir stood rigidly for a moment, and then got out Legolas' cloak. "Here," he said gruffly. "You'll need it for the walk."  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: Hey!!!! Despite my odd beginning, I am done with this chapter and I'm going to kick my way through the next one!  
Muse: She means she's going to kick me until I agree to stop helping with Intrigue and start helping with this one.  
:P  
Muse: Watch your mouth, or you'll end up with no muses at all.  
Yipe! Lol, bye now, please review if you think it's any good!  
  
1- small-cat, meant as kitten. 


	9. The Dark Man

A/n: Hello, darlings. I'm back once more on a mad escapade! I plan to... [dramatic pause] ... write fanfiction!!!!!!  
  
*cue manic laughter in background*  
  
Disclaimer: If you keep bugging me about it my mind is just going to go 'snap!' like a bundle of very dry twigs. But the plot is really mine. All mine!  
  
Chapter Nine: The Dark Man  
  
He leaned against the door, thinking about what Legolas was doing, and how much hate he had for the Lorien elf. Haldir was his name.  
  
Legolas was his. His alone. He did not care what anyone else said or did. The perfect elf would always love him. Only him. No one else could even come close to knowing Legolas the way he did. Valar, he could almost read the Elf's mind.  
  
He had embedded his prescence firmly into Legolas's mind. Thinking about him was a reflex for the Prince; gods, it felt so insanely good to hear his name echoing in Legolas's head and in his speech.  
  
//"The Dark Man will hurt me."//  
  
He got up, and melted into the shadows. Damn right, he would hurt the prince. But not right now. Now was the time to wait.  
  
A few minutes later Gwaloth walked back into her rooms, noticing with a dull sense of worry that someone had left her door open and sat on her bed once more.  
  
She sighed softly as she lay down, the air and her feelings flowing out of her in unison. Breathing at a steady, almost meditative rate, she could get herself to sleep.  
  
But by no means was her sleep an easy one. Not by a long shot.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas ate his bread-bowl of soup slowly as they walked back to Haldir's talan, wanting to keep his fingers warm. Said Elf was walking beside him, hands in his pockets. The silence wrapped around them, comfortingly different from the noises of the kitchen. The wind blew in meandering gusts across the courtyard, the odd flake of snow working loose and tumbling in the air.  
  
Legolas took the time to look inside. He knew that he was supposed to do as the Dark Man said. But it didn't feel too right. He wanted, really wanted, to remember what happened when Haldir was with him. He didn't want to forget.  
  
He didn't want to look at Haldir and not know his face.  
  
One day, he woke up, and he hadn't remembered anything of the day before. Faces had started to slip. That was all he could remember of the time. Sometimes he would wake as if from a trance with blood on his knuckles. Life was like a dream, fading in and out of his perception.  
  
That was the way the Dark One had said it had to be.  
  
Legolas knew, with a feeling of regret, that the Dark One would make him forget Haldir when they saw each other next. He looped an arm around Haldir's and leaned his head on Haldir's shoulder, swallowing the last of the bread.  
  
He didn't want this to end.  
  
The talan was cool, the fire mere embers in the hearth. Rumil was sitting distractedly by the fire. Haldir frowned. Why would Rumil be here?  
  
He ushered Legolas over to his bed and sat him down, then walked over to his brother's side. Legolas seemed a bit perturbed by the abruptness, but soon lost interest and looked out the window.  
  
"Rumil, what's wrong? You look strange," Haldir said in a soft voice. Rumil said nothing, gazing into the fire.  
  
Haldir's brow creased. "Rumil?"  
  
"We were watching them the whole time," Rumil said oddly, his features bemused. "It was easier that way, you know- to make sure they didn't vomit whatever food they managed to eat, out of habit more than reason. Really. They were making excellent progress."  
  
Haldir remembered who Rumil had been assigned to. //The anorexic brothers. That must be who he's talking about.//  
  
Rumil's eyes burned.  
  
"And then- right in front of my eyes-" he said, emotion making his voice tremble, "the older brother- he- he just- He stopped breathing... turned red, then purple- I begged him to stop, tried to see if anything was blocking his throat and nothing was- then... then his face turned white...  
  
"He was doing it, all by himself, not caring, just dying. Gwaloth couldn't even stop him, in the end. She went to bed a while ago. I don't think she'll sleep much.  
  
"He just- wouldn't breathe- no matter how hard I pleaded, he wouldn't! He just looked at me, sad, and he slipped away- I could feel his soul slip away-"  
  
Sobs racked Rumil's frame as he began to cry onto Haldir's shoulder. Haldir wrapped his arms around his brother, still numb with shock, and whispered soothing sounds, letting Rumil weep.  
  
Legolas was sitting cross-legged in his bed, gazing disconcernedly out of the window.  
  
He couldn't hear them. Life was like a dream.  
  
Anyways, if life was going to be sad, why bother living it? He was supposed to slip away, fade into nothing, according to the Dark One. Rumil's voice echoed, meaningless, in his ears; as meaningless as if Rumil had been speaking another language.  
  
Maybe he was. Legolas didn't want to listen. The Dark One didn't want him to.  
  
Life went this way.  
  
He was merely accepting his commands.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Orophin sat silently in his bed, listening to the regular sound of the younger brother breathe. His eyes were wide and frightened.  
  
Once he fell asleep the dreams would come. He had to stay awake. He had to, if only to preserve his sanity. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the images. It was to no avail.  
  
Unlike his brothers, Orophin could see things. Not often- just when magic was present. He could see Gwaloth; a blackness hiding within her shadow twisting before his eyes, and reeking of evil. He could see the black noose around the elf's neck as he struggled to breathe. He could see Gwaloth, her eyes wild with concern and fear as she tried to stop everything from going to hell, unaware of the monster behind her.  
  
Moaning softly, he opened his eyes. The elf's brother- Lalwen- was wide awake and watching him.  
  
Lalwen began to cry, and Orophin walked wearily over to his side, wrapping his arms about the smaller Elf and making small noises of comfort.  
  
//If the Valar are listening, you owe Lalwen. You owe him so much.//  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Legolas stood warily by the window as the shadows lifted, wondering abstractly why the Dark One had not come yet. He was getting worried. What if the Dark One never came?  
  
The thought, although he did not know why, filled him with an intense sense of panic. He gripped the edge of the windowsill, his knuckles gone white. A wave of nausea hit him, and he shook silently for a few minutes as he tried to fight the collapse.  
  
Finally the feeling that he was about to black out lifted. Legolas breathed rapidly, trying to fill his lungs. He had not realized he had been holding his breath.  
  
Taking in a large gulp of air, he calmed himself. The blackouts meant not remembering, he knew that much. What scared him was that his near-collapses damaged his short-term memory. After a few hours it would come back, but it took longer and longer the more times the convulsions happened. Legolas shuddered.  
  
Haldir was still asleep. Legolas flushed, smiling to himself. //I was silent. I did not wake him.//  
  
Haldir had fallen asleep in his chair by the fire. Legolas wasn't tired- he had been awake all night, in fact. That was because he had been asleep during the entire noon the day before.  
  
Dawn was creeping stealthily into the night sky, sending out tendrils of orange and fiery red. Legolas sighed. He loved the starlight more than anything. It was comforting, somehow, to see the eyes of the heavans gazing upon him. To know, that somewhere out there, some power was watching over him, whose abilities were so infinite they surpassed the boundaries of the imagination...  
  
Legolas sighed, and for an instant, he had a fleeting memory of golden light through the trees, and warm hands wrapping around his. Then it was gone, and he was alone with Haldir once more.  
  
Sunrise stained the snow a light vermillion, and then the crimson was gone and the sun was rising above the treetops.  
  
Haldir stirred. Quietly Legolas crept back over to his bed, and lay down, pretending to be asleep. After a while, he really was.  
  
Haldir stretched his arms above his head. //Vala. Yesterday was an unfortunate day for everyone. What with that suicide and all, I wouldn't be suprised if Lalwen and Rumil sleep for the whole day.//  
  
Yawning a bit, Haldir walked softly over to where Legolas was slumbering. He smiled. //It looks like Legolas is going to sleep all day, too.// Haldir decided not to disturb the Prince, and instead began to put on his boiled-leather armor and warm clothes for the day.  
  
Haldir shut the door behind him as he walked out, heading down the stairs to the kitchen.  
  
*****tbc*****  
A/n: Sorry about update thing- school is in the way, and I'm doing badly, so I need to get back on track. Peace out!  
~NbSb 


	10. Review Replies

Reviewers- here, I reply!!!!  
  
Haldir's Heart and Soul: Glad you've been liking the story so far. You're awesome, you reviewed like every single chapter!! *grins* Neato name, dude. Like, I think we have something in common... *sighs dreamily and floats away into a Legolas/Haldir happy place*  
  
Legolas19: La la... thank you for the flattery. ^_^ My ego is inflating!!!! Yay!!!! *does a happy dance* I may be weird, but I can write, baby!  
  
Cheysuli: *goes all starry-eyed* Yay... you reviewed so often... EEEEE!!!!! *squeals with delight and hugs you*  
  
Keeper of the Dreams: Hey, I remember you from the Rose's Bloom!!!! Hey there and glad you like, very glad you like. *bounces happily around the room* Lub you!!!!! *hugs*  
  
Silvawen: *squeals with delight* YAAAAAAAY!!!!!! Silvawen, you're the BEST!! You make me write ten times harder! AIEEEmy heart-is-popping- with-too-much-screaming-not-enough-oxygen- X_X  
-_-  
-_0  
YAAAAAY Silvawen!  
  
Checkmate: *holds up arms, all pumped up* Writing really aids my finger strength, as you can see. *the crowd: OOoooooh.... aaaahhhh...*  
  
aeneas: Wahey, I love mad legolas as well. Pity there aren't more of them around... le sob! *bad french accent, bathos, etc.*  
  
leggylover: *hugs* Yayayayayaaay! You like it! Don't worry ifs ya get confused, it's supposed to be like that....  
  
blue jeans baby: *pats on head* Nice reviewer! Nice! Here, have candy cane! *gives candy cane*  
  
Labyrinth and Inuyasha: You rock, man. Like, you're sooo far out it's like unbelievable. *falls over* Muse: WHO gave her the weed?! Me: Jusy Kidding! Muse: *thwaps with a newspaper*  
  
Angel From Hell: Oh yes, continuing is what I do! I love writing fanfiction... *sighs dreamily* Well, I'm good at endings but not necessarily middles or beginnings.  
  
Anthem82: You're awesome. Kudos to you! Yeah!!!! Oh and by the way do you like Good Charlotte?! Cos their Anthem song is wicked.  
  
Cerasi2: Glad that I make you smile... sorry for long wait between updates, I have a school to attend. *gives the school the finger* Bleeeach. You're such a nice reviewer, you know?  
  
Wynjara: More more more is a kind of eloquent, yet tasteful way of putting things. Direct, yet tactful. To the point, but not overbearing-  
Muse: *smacks with flyswatter* Shut up!  
Me: Ow.  
  
Eithne: *gives you a slice of the cake she is not allowed to eat* Here. Have this. You rock.  
  
amy: I loved the bird part, myself... it was in my head since I first got the idea for the fic. *grins real big* I love birdies! Oooo. That gave me an idea for a ficlet.  
  
foot fungus 07: *jumps up and down and hugs* Lub you!!! Thanks so much for giving such a nice review. I love you. Marry me.  
Muse: *smacks on head with lead pipe* Sorry, she's a bit delirious.  
  
ViciOusRebL: Yeah, cliffhangers are evil, but they work for getting reviews. *cackles like a maniac* Here, have some cake.  
  
Isdule07: *hugs* Yay you liked it you liked it!!!!! WHHHEEEEEE!!!  
  
Evenstar2: Don't worry, I know exactly who the Dark One is. I decided in the very beginning. I wanted it that way, and boy oh boy will writing the ending be fun!  
  
Little Kaori Solo Yuy-Maxwell: Wheee! Thank you. I can add that to the list of awards I award myself!: Overwhelming Awesome-ness!!!!!  
  
Arienedhel Andunewen: Yayyayayayayayaaaaaay!!!! Flattery!!!! *bounces up and down* Love you!!!!!! Thank you so much, your review was so nice and long and complementing... *hugs*  
  
sokochan: I loved writing the Helle and Erin scene too. It was like Hamlet, kind of, because I love where Hamlet pretends to be insane and talks like that... yay I picked up a fan!!!! *hugs* *gives a candy cane*  
  
A/n: I love you!!!! All of you!!!! You kick ass!!!! *group hug* 


	11. The Shattered Peaces

A/n: Guess who's back... no really, guess!!! *pauses with great flair* ME!!!!! YAY!!!!  
  
Chapter Eleven: The Shattered Peaces  
*misspelt on purpose  
  
Legolas slept like a child in his bed. The Dark One sighed. The Prince's face was so soft and peaceful... and within himself, he felt the familiar, poisonous rage that filled his entire soul at the thought of the Elf.  
  
//BREAK rip tear shred peace//  
  
He clenched his fists, so tightly that his nails dug painfully into his palms, leaving small red crescents that oozed blood. His eyes dilated as he fought to control his breathing. He had to to get inside the Prince's head. He had to make the Prince scream.  
  
//blood HATE anger anger rage MINE//  
  
The Dark One rocked back and forth on his heels and toes as he felt the firey hatred of the Prince's newfound peace wrap around him and through him like a serpent through his veins. The platinum blonde elf. Haldir.  
  
Haldir was making Legolas remember. Making Legolas's mind pull itself back together.  
  
//so CLOSE to broken so CLOSE damn Haldir Legolas was so CLOSE to falling under//  
  
He knew his body was in no way fit enough to take on Haldir.  
  
He just had to think of a way to break the Prince...  
  
//mine//  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Legolas rolled over, mumbling something incoherent as he slept. Someone was close. Someone was near. He was not alone...  
  
Someone was watching him.  
  
Legolas sat bolt upright, gasping for air, his eyes wide with blind terror. He looked around himself, confused, and then recognition dawned in those frightened eyes. Haldir. His light. He was in Haldir's talan.  
  
Sighing with relief, Legolas flopped back down on his bed, gazing calmly up at the ceiling. Haldir... he did not know why, but Haldir was really, really important to him. Haldir was the one who sat beside him for hours when he blanked out. He was the one who walked him back and forth to the kitchens when he was afraid of being alone.  
  
//He's... different. I am not sure where home is, but I want it to be here. I want home to be where Haldir is.//  
  
Legolas glanced at the door, and saw the handle turn. He frowned. Who-  
  
Rumil stepped inside, a sad expression on his face. He looked around, noticed Legolas, and gave a small smile.  
  
"Sorry to bother you. May I wait here? I don't want to be alone after what happened yesterday..." Legolas nodded.  
  
"What happened yesterday?" he asked curiously when Rumil had seated himself. Rumil looked away, staring sadly at the floor. It seemed like a long time before Rumil answered.  
  
"Yesterday- yesterday an elf I was looking after- he died, right in front of me," Rumil said haltingly. He sighed, and bent forwards. Legolas looked at him, perturbed.  
  
"Rumil?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yes, Legolas?"  
  
"What is 'died'? What does it mean?"  
  
"...."  
  
"Rumil?"  
  
"To die- well- 'dead' means that you can never see that person again. It means that they go away where you can't follow, and they leave their bodies behind. They grow stiff and cold, and it is like they are asleep- but- but they'll never- wake- up-"  
  
Rumil began to cry, and Legolas got up, wrapping a comforting arm around the shocked Elf. He made soft noises. After a while, Rumil collected himself, and Legolas looked at him gently.  
  
"It is not the first time, is it, someone has died? Someone you knew?"  
  
Rumil nodded reluctantly. "My mother died," he whispered softly. "Haldir doesn't miss her that much- he never really knew our mother- but she was the most wonderful person in the world. He had gone outside to play, you see, and accidentally wandered far away from where he was supposed to go. An arrow caught Mama in the chest as she fell saving him.  
  
"It is very hard not to blame him, even though it's not his fault at all. I just loved her so much- and now- another death- and I was supposed to protect the elf who died! I was supposed to save him from everything. I was supposed to make sure Lalwen never felt the same pain I did, but now he will, and I can't help but think-  
  
"I can't help but believe it's my fault," Rumil delared unhappily. "What could I have done to save him? I am sure I could have done something..."  
  
Legolas patted Rumil on the head soothingly. "It is not your fault," he murmered. "No Elf can dictate fate. Mother... I can't remember my mother... who... who was she..."  
  
His voice grew distracted, and he faded into silence. Rumil rubbed his tears away on the back of his hand, and smiled. "Thank you," he said with a friendlier smile than before. "Thank you for everything."  
  
Rumil shut the door behind him on his way out of the talan, feeling a little relieved and much better than when he had first stumbled over to talk to Haldir. As he walked back to his own talan, a light snow began to fall through the barrier.  
  
The light in Orophin's talan had gone out.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Erin sat calmly on a fallen log next to Helle, composed and serene in a thick winter cloak. Helle himself was garbed in his usual grey and blue robes. She looked at him sadly.  
  
"What is the matter, Lady Erin?" Helle asked gently, as he took out the food he had packed for the both of them. Erin sighed.  
  
"You're such a beautiful bird. It is such a pity that the shadows will catch you sooner or later."  
  
"Erin?"  
  
"Yes, dear bird?"  
  
Helle leaned closer, eager with anticipation. Oh, Valar, let this be the breakthrough, he prayed briefly. "Who are the shadows?"  
  
Erin smiled. "That is a sad story, bird. Do you wish to know it?"  
  
"Yes, my lady, I do."  
  
"I cannot tell you much- only that sister was right there when the shadows came out. Sister took the brunt of it. Sister ran away after that, but then something out of the well came back, so long after, and that something was the shadows. I screamed, you know," she said seriously. "I screamed for hours and hours and my throat bled terribly, but no one could hear me, and no one came."  
  
Helle laid a warm hand over Erin's cold one. "I can hear you."  
  
Erin's eyes grew wide. She shook her head repeatedly, rocking back and forth. "No. No one can hear me."  
  
"I can hear you, Erin."  
  
"You can't hear me. I'm talking and you can't hear me. You aren't listening."  
  
"Erin-" Helle wrapped his arms around her before she could go into her usual convulsions. "Erin," he said softly. "I'm listening."  
  
Tears splashed down onto Helle's hands. "R-really?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Gwaloth sighed as she saw Legolas walking next to Haldir as the pair walked over to the kitchens. The two were inseperable. They were obviously in love- only an idiot could possibly not see that.  
  
//But I still don't want to see it,// Gwaloth admitted with a bowed head. //I've loved Legolas ever since I met him, but no matter what I try to do, nothing works. I couldn't save him from whatever was plaguing him in Mirkwood. I'm just as useless over here.//  
  
Gwaloth felt more than a little lost. //Where am I without Legolas to hold on to?// she wondered. //My life so far has always revolved around taking care of him and loving him from a distance. What will I do with my life when he's all right again? Once I wanted to marry him, and I- I swore my soul to him... I still do-//  
  
//But his heart belongs to another. Not to me. I just-//  
  
//I hope Haldir's good to him.//  
  
Gwaloth left her position in the trees, and walked for a while in the gathering twilight until her feet found their way to the talan where she was staying. She opened the door, and stepped inside.  
  
The snow, which had been powder in the air, was starting to grow in piles on the ground.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Haldir held onto Legolas's arm as the two of them walked back from their evening meal. Legolas's breath smelled sweetly of the fruit he had just eaten, and for a few moments they just looked at each other in the swirling snow, under a beam of moonlight.  
  
Almost without realizing it, Haldir leaned forward.  
  
The kiss was sweeter than any food Legolas could have eaten.  
  
For a few long minutes, Legolas stayed in that position, his back supported by one of Haldir's strong arms, his head tilted back in a loving embrace. It felt good. It felt right. Nothing was wrong with it. Best of all...  
  
//...it isn't hurting... It doesn't hurt!//  
  
Haldir broke off the contact, flushing a brilliant red. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath. "I don't know what came over me."  
  
Legolas sighed. "Do not be sorry," he asked gently. "You shouldn't be sorry for making me happy."  
  
Haldir turned a darker shade of red, and gruffly led Legolas back to his room, where he promptly fell asleep.  
  
The snow was almost a handspan deep.  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: Tee hee... bunnies! Luv you all, please review darling humans! Adios!  
  
A/n: If you're an elf, feel free to review as well- simply state that you are one in your message. Have a nice day! 


	12. Memory Lane

A/n: Wheee! I just realized- American football is a widely-approved sport where hot, muscular, sweaty men hug and take each other to the ground every five seconds. Am now taking a few days to quietly question my personal values. Probably, though, I'll come up with the same answer as the last time I did some soul-searching... meh.  
  
Well, with no further ado over nothing, I bring to you:  
  
Chapter Twelve: Memory Lane  
  
Legolas looked around him. Everything was dark. Everything in the dark was swirling. //The dark is moving.// He knew, with a certain resignation, that he was sleeping. That he was dreaming. In a way, that was oddly comforting, because when he was dreaming, there were no bloodstains left behind from things he he did not remember doing.  
  
Shadows of non-light and holes of non-existance shot through the insubstantial and superficial blackness, rendering it simply the fear of an infant. This, this was the darkness that hid monsters. Mere night wavered and seemed childish compared to the terror that the abscence of all light held in its depths. This was the sort of fear that would send a grown man, screaming, as far away as he could run.  
  
Legolas found it comforting.  
  
//No one here. No one in front. No one behind. Alone. Completely alone.//  
  
He smiled, a cracked, twisted movement across features that never expressed happiness. Valar. He was finally alone.  
  
//No one to hurt. No one to bend, no one to break, no one to beat me down.//  
  
Something deep within his thoughts yanked its way to the front, bending him over with nausea.  
  
//You want to be hurt. You want to be bent and broken// the thought hissed, its prescence bubbling and fizzling like boiling water inside Legolas's skull. He nodded like a puppet would, controlled by strings. Fluid leaked out of his eyes, his ears, his mouth, and his nose, dripping slowly down his body.  
  
//You WANT to be beaten to the ground! DON'T YOU?//  
  
Legolas clutched his ears, screaming. Loud. Too loud.  
  
His nostrils spurted blood. He moaned, the sound of a dying animal bursting from his mouth. His fingers were twitching, and were as pale as his shaking body. Vomiting was impossible- his throat was so clenched that he could barely breathe.  
  
Still, his stomach tried. Gastric acid burned at his throat as it swelled, making him groan.  
  
//Good pet. Good.//  
  
The pain stopped, and Legolas choked, the bile that had been rising behind his throat blockage bursting out in an arc. He lay on his side for a while, breathing heavily and trying to collect his wits.  
  
He wiped at his face, clearing his eyes and sending out a pitiful thought thread.  
  
//i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i'm sorry.//  
  
//Who is your master? Your protector? Your only love?//  
  
Legolas shut his eyes. //you//  
  
His body was restored, and Legolas sighed with wretched relief. Then a small, dangerous wisp of idea crept into his conciousness. It formed itself steadily into a full-fledged, independent thought that demanded attention.  
  
//Haldir.//  
  
The presence was instantly alert. //... what?//  
  
//I love Haldir.//  
  
//NO//  
  
//I do!//  
  
//NO//, screamed the prescence, and there was a sound like the cracking of the sky.  
  
Legolas looked fearfully around himself in the abyss. He could tell, because he knew this place- he could tell, because he had spent so much of his life in this chasm of thoughts-  
  
He could sense the storm brewing.  
  
The thought of its fury was enough to make even Legolas curl up, shaking with fear.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas opened his eyes, blind for a few minutes with panic. His gaze darted nervously from place to place in the talan that he could remember- but only vaguely.  
  
//...a-awake...//  
  
He relaxed, pressing his left palm against his forehead and shutting his eyes again, suprised at how hot it was. That was right. The talan. Haldir...  
  
Legolas frowned as a headache crept into his head. Haldir... The headache grew worse, threatening.  
  
//Haldir-//  
  
The migraine throbbed, twisting and writhing and sending harsh knives of pain through his mind. Legolas bit back a moan. Haldir. Platinum hair. Strong arms. Haldir. Soft blue eyes. Warm lips.  
  
His eyes flew open.  
  
//Pain?//  
  
Haldir.  
  
Haldir... pain?  
  
Haldir, pain.  
  
Haldir meant-  
  
//PAIN//  
  
Legolas looked around fearfully. Haldir was awake and looking at him. //no// he pleaded, mentally. //no!//  
  
Haldir looked at Legolas curiously. "Legolas?"  
  
Legolas blinked, keeping his mouth shut tightly. //Who?  
  
...me?//  
  
Haldir was next to him before Legolas was really aware of what had happened, and his arms-  
  
//strong. Safe.//  
  
-wrapped themselves around his waist.  
  
"Legolas. What's wrong?" Haldir's eyes were so soft... and his mouth in such a worried line- Legolas *wanted* to trust-  
  
"I- something- it HURT-"  
  
Tears began to slide down his cheeks, and he shook his head.  
  
"When- when I woke up- something made me forget- I- I can't remember! When I try to remember it hurts... it hurts a lot. But it hurts so bad when I think of you, I-" His voice cracked, and Legolas began to sob. He couldn't get words past his lips.  
  
Haldir hugged him tightly, and rocked him gently back and forth. "Shh. It's all right. If it hurts, you don't have to try to remember. You don't have to get hurt. It's all right. It's all right." Inside, Haldir was a tempest, but one thing dominated his thoughts.  
  
He hoped- he truly, deeply hoped- that Legolas was safe here. Because Haldir was going to have to go get Galadriel. Legolas needed protection from whatever was harming him- and he would get it. Harm? This was not simple harm. This was mental torture.  
  
Haldir held onto Legolas until he had cried himself out, and when he got up to leave, Legolas did not try to stop him.  
  
As he moved to shut the door behind him, Legolas mumbled mournfully, "I told you the shadows would get me if you left me alone. But you couldn't follow, could you?"  
  
Haldir froze, his heart stopping painfully and his blood icing over.  
  
He had to move away before Legolas saw his tears. There had been enough of them this morning already.  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: Short, I know, but it fits this way. :) 


	13. Hands and claws

A/n: This was written because I have punishments- no net! I wasn't allowed, technically, to "waste my time making up silly stories" either, but ho ho ho, I am devious. ^_^ Someday, I'll be out of here, and I'll be able to write write write all the time...  
  
Disclaimer: *points roughly in the direction of Christopher Tolkien* Him. He does.  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Hands (and claws)  
  
Legolas sat neatly in the chair that Galadriel had gestured him to, and tried not to think about what had happened that night. He could vaguely remember the feeling of being strangled, but other than that, his memory was blocked by spurts of intense pain. Galadriel had simply sat down across from him, and the greater part of the pain had been halved. He hoped that the peace would last.  
  
//It is so good to be able to think straight// he sighed mentally. Galadriel smiled.  
  
//It is, isn't it. Sometimes I have to go down to the fountain to clear my head. Does that happen to you?//  
  
Legolas frowned. //What is "clearing my head"?//  
  
//It means you stop thinking too much at once and sort everything out in your mind, taking time out to think thoughts individually. It's also getting rid of the thoughts that don't do you any good.//  
  
Legolas looked gravely at Galadriel. //What if... someone else clears my head?//  
  
//You mean, clears 'his' head.//  
  
//No...//  
  
Galadriel's jaw dropped silently. She broke the connection abruptly, and began to fling up shields around Legolas and herself. //Valar. No wonder...//  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Gwaloth held her head gingerly as she got up, loath to move for fear of her awful headache. She had had another strange dream again, this time involving an old well and her mother. She had been walking through the fields of her old home, and come across a well she did not remember.  
  
In her dream, Gwaloth had removed the lid on the well, and her mother was standing in it, looking up at her with a smile and beckoning. Gwaloth had wanted to ask why, why are you down there? but someone was behind her, who was going to take her away...  
  
Then she had woken up.  
  
Gwaloth sighed unhappily. She often dreamed of the farm, and walking through the fields, and the flowers that never seemed to fade. But this was the first dream she could remember where the well appeared and her mother entered.  
  
She frowned. //Why don't I remember that much about my mother?// she wondered. Then she held her head, for another, stronger, and vastly more irritating headache wave had passed over her.  
  
Gwaloth flopped back on the bed, dark circles under her eyes. She sighed, brushing her hair out of her face. Even though she had just been sleeping, she felt so tired...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The Dark One brooded in the shadows.  
  
//How in Mandos did the Prince recover so quickly?//  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas sat tersely next to Haldir and remembered as hard as he could. Something. Something inside of his was warm and soft and strong and weak. Something good, blissful. Blissful enough that it hurt. What?  
  
Legolas wasn't sure what it was, but he had the distinctly unpleasant feeling that something was trying very, very hard to stop him from remembering.  
  
Legolas sighed and let his head drop wearily. That was the thing that bothered him the most, really. The thing which made him want to shout out in frustration. He couldn't remember what happened to him. He could not remember the pain or the things that had been done to him while he was under the influence of whoeverwas controlling him. All he had were the precious few memories that-  
  
-The Dark One-  
  
-had not taken away from him.  
  
Like an afterimage burned into an eye, the shadows of moments that had been taken from his memory were burned into his mind. But the memories weren't gone, and that was what made him frustrated. He could feel the memories, just beyond his reach but-  
  
-The Dark One-  
  
-had made it so that he could not reach them. And for some reason, Legolas couldn't remember why he feared and loved and trusted the Dark One all at the same time.  
  
A fleeting image came to him, and he clung to it fretfully. It was a pretty girl Elf- Gwaloth?  
  
Yes, that was her name. Gwaloth was important. Important because... why was she important? She had taken care of him... yes, that was it.  
  
He could remember her smile, her warm hands on his cool face, and her earnest eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, Legolas," she had said reassuringly. "I will keep you safe from the shadows." And he could feel himself nodding and feeling safe, within her arms.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Gwaloth lurched to her feet. She looked around herself, confused and a bit frightened.  
  
//How did I get here?// she wondered, and then a memory prompted itself into her mind.  
  
//I was walking. I fell asleep. I was so tired, so tired that I didn't want to walk all the way back home. I was sleeping. I was dreaming peacefully, right here under the shade of the tree...//  
  
Gwaloth looked at her feet. A few old leaves had fallen to the ground. Something was strange about them.  
  
She stiffened. This was the tree that Haldir- haldir....- had found Legolas and Gwaloth in, drinking their own blood. She tried not to retch as she marched away from the scene, the cold January breezes which were cold enough to carry snow, even in Lothlorien, making her tanned skirts sway. Her body was warm. Gwaloth felt that there was some reason she should not be warm after sleeping for so long outside, but then she forced herself to concentrate on walking back to her flet.  
  
If she thought about anything else, her mind would drift back to the leaves on the ground, brown and ugly with old, dried, evil-smelling-  
  
Blood.  
  
Instead she tried to think about the dream she had had. She let herself slip back into its memory...  
  
She sat up, and the air was warm and sweet and smelled of flowers. Her mother, a tall, beautiful, black-haired Elf was standing beside her, one hand placed approvingly on her head. Gwaloth knew she was a child again, and smiled sunnily up at her dear, beloved mother.  
  
But her mother wasn't there anymore, and Gwaloth sat down on a rock in the forest, wanting to cry. Suddenly, though, a tiny elfchild of only ten year of age sat in front of her. Her hair was red and fiery, and her eyes were blue. She had very short hair though- she was far too young, too young for it to even reach her ears.  
  
"Why are you so sad?" asked the child, in an adult voice. Gwaloth sniffled, and rubbed her nose.  
  
"I'm alone," she said unhappily. "I want Mama."  
  
"Well, then, you must find her. Come here, with me, along this path- oh! look! a well! I suppose we ought to stop for a drink on such a warm day, don't you?"  
  
The child had grown into a giant who towered over the child Gwaloth's head. She was frightened of the child-adult. She hesitantly drew back the cover, and stood blinking.  
  
Her mother stood in the bottom of the well, far far under the clearwater. She said, "Oh, good, Gwaloth! You've found me! I knew you would find me, my darling, my love. Come- come with me-"  
  
And she beckoned.  
  
But the stranger had wrapped her huge, giant arms around Gwaloth's waist and was dragging her away...  
  
Gwaloth broke the chain of thought and memory with a shudder. She looked back at the path, musing quietly and wondering why she was dreaming so much about her mother these days.  
  
//I don't even know that much about her- all I know is that she died of a fever. That's what ada said, before he got sick. He told me. He did. And then I went away to Mirkwood to find work, and I met Legolas, and now I have followed him here.//  
  
Gwaloth did not find it that disturbing that most of her memories were in such a simple format- she was used to it. A good deal of her memories were like that- they sounded as though they were the voice of someone else boringly reciting facts, almost, as though her mind had a voice of its own...  
  
What she had never really wondered- and this is the one that would keep someone awake at night-  
  
Whose voice was it?  
  
*****tbc*****  
A/n: LOve you all especially if you read this. *hugs tearfully* 


	14. The Best Thing You Could Give

A/n: woot. Back... back again! ^.^ The end is coming, me hearties. Buckle up. It's gonna be a hell of a bumpy ride. WAHAHAAAA! Oh, and pretty please check out the authors and stories in my favorites. Even if you think you won't like something, (cough Harry Potter haters cough) please try them. After all... :-D! They're pretty darn good!  
  
Disclaimer: *hugs Erin and Gwaloth and Helle to her chest* My babies! Ahhhh! Don't take them! *ahem* But I don't own Legolas or Haldir or Lorien or Galadriel or all those nice, Tolkienish things.  
  
Chapter Fourteen: The Best Thing You Could Give  
  
Gwaloth panted as she ran, her breeches loose around her legs and her sides aching. She had to run, had to run, had to, had to, run, run, run, run, run-  
  
Gwaloth sat up, breathing hard. She looked around her. She was in her room. The sunrise was beautiful through the glass panes. The door was open. Everything was fine-  
  
The door was open.  
  
Gwaloth panicked. She got up, eyes wide and frightened, as she shut the door with an audible bang. She sat down on the edge of her bed, feeling lost and alone. Had someone been in here while she was asleep? Or was she alone, as she thought she was?  
  
//But... was I ever really alone?// she wondered bleakly. Something wasn't right. It was easy, in Mirkwood, to pretend. It was easy to believe she had simply forgotten that she had done things because her routine was constant. It was always constant. Why, it was the most natural thing in the world to let your mind slip, when you were performing a task you had carried out a hundred times before.  
  
But something wasn't right. Something was not right at all. Here, in Lorien, she had no routine to cling to. She had nothing to take her mind off the dreams and the voice that told her not to remember too hard, because here, here were her memories! plain and simple, easy to look at memories, no need to delve deeper. No need in the world.  
  
Gwaloth was not sure why, but the voice didn't seem right. She hadn't thought about her past in a long, long while. Where had she been before she was the Prince's caretaker?  
  
She shuddered. Her mind was telling her: You were at home. You were at home and then you left.  
  
//But why did I leave?//  
  
//It's not important, not important,// whispered her mind. //Trust yourself. Trust. It isn't important.//  
  
//Yes,// she decided firmly. //Yes, it is important. It is very important.//  
  
//No. NO. It isn't. You should stop thinking about it, right now. Stop. STOP!// screamed -something- that Gwaloth was suddenly, grippingly sure was not her.  
  
//Let me in// she demanded quietly, frenzy in her eyes. //Let me see my past, damnit!//  
  
//I can't.//  
  
//Why not? WHY NOT?//  
  
//.....//  
  
//TELL ME.//  
  
//But-//  
  
//Tell me, now, damn you. Or get out.//  
  
//I can't!//  
  
//YES YOU CAN!//  
  
//No! Really! I cannot!//  
  
//THEN TELL ME WHY//  
  
//...//  
  
//Well?//  
  
//Because- because-//  
  
//For the Valar's sake, please!//  
  
The voice sounded petulant and whiny. //Because... the others won't let me.//  
  
Gwaloth was dimly aware of a few moments of shock, and then she realized that her mouth had fallen open, and there was someone out there screaming. It was only a while later that she realized, quite oddly, that the screams came from her. And in her mind she kept replaying her dream, the little blue-eyed, red-haired elfling asking her over and over again what was wrong.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Erin sat solemnly on a chair as Helle rushed about, getting food for their breakfast. Her green eyes flashed dully. She was thinking.  
  
//Sister. Dear sister. You're dead. You're dead, dead, dead. You had to run away! The shadows took you first, they took you first. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Poor little bird, poor little bird! You weren't supposed to die. We were picking strawberries. You were going to take them home to adar, so that he could save them for nana, when nana came home. Nana liked to go outside and sleep under the stars. She loved to.//  
  
//She liked strawberries so much, you see. They were her breakfast food. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We went out and you died, you died died died. I shouldn't have, I wouldn't have if I had known. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.//  
  
//We were going to find some catnips, yes, we were, remember? For Viola. Viola the cat. She was so soft and cuddly. She was nana's favorite. Nana was wonderful, wasn't she? And it was so sad that she had to fly, fly far far away. Ada, he used to tell nana that he loved her, but then he would look at... no. Not thinking about it. Let's play pretend, sister. I can be Viola, you can be nana. Then you can be a cat, after! I know you love to pretend you are a cat. Isn't it so much fun?//  
  
Helle sat down across from her, holding out a bowl of diced vegetables and a side of thinly cut meat. Erin blinked, and smiled warmly at Helle.  
  
"Do you have any strawberries?" ******************************************************************  
  
Legolas sat calmly in his accustomed chair, as Galadriel came through the door. Her visits were expected, now, and he always remembered to be there when she came. Haldir sat next to him, holding his hand loosely. There was a fog in his mind, he could tell. He frowned.  
  
Why did he always do as the Dark One told him to? The answer lay in his memories, but Legolas couldn't stand the raw pain that trying to break through to them caused.  
  
He sighed, feeling miserable. He wanted to explain it to them, but he knew they wouldn't understand. No one would understand how much it hurt to delve into his mind.  
  
Galadriel smiled cooly at him. "Legolas, given regard to your current situation, I think it best that you don't do much talking. I understand you have a terrible headache. But I do have news for you," she said, her voice growing soft and kind.  
  
"Legolas, I think that the Dark One is the one who has driven you mad."  
  
Legolas retreated into numb silence, nodding mutely. "Okay. If you think so," he heard himself say. What was going on? The Dark One had always looked over him, right? Right?  
  
//What if...// he thought, looking, shellshocked, out the window.  
  
//What if the Dark One... is really where I should place the blame?//  
  
Something lifted, like a veil. Legolas knew, desperately, that the answer was in his memories. He would have given anything in the world to break the barrier and make Haldir pleased with him, but he couldn't do it. he just couldn't do it. Frustrated, Legolas leaned against Haldir, oblivious to the conversation going on over his head.  
  
"So, why is he the way he is about people?" Haldir gestured towards Legolas with his free hand.  
  
Galadriel sighed. "I believe that the Dark One used manipulation to make him believe lies, and among those lies was probably that everyone was out to get him. Right now, we're not even sure that the Dark One is an actual person. After all, it is entirely possible that Legolas's madness causes him to see people that do not exist. Perhaps the Dark One is one such figment of his crazed mind."  
  
Haldir frowned. "I am not sure," he said quietly. "He acts so jumpy at physical contact, and he fears the Dark One in terms of violence that isn't strictly mental, it's mostly physical. You should hear him talk."  
  
"Well, that clears up one thing. What bothers me is that the Legolas I remember when I visited Mirkwood, many manyu years ago, was a healthy, normal child. He was never odd or paranoid in the slightest. When could this have happened?"  
  
Haldir shifted in his seat. "I think it was when he was little, just a small elfling. Because his emotions, if not his intellect, are those of a small child's. Is it possible that this Dark One could have boxed him up like that, making his emotions unable to mature?"  
  
"That is certain. You're right, it probably began when he was very young, shortly after I returned to Lorien. Well, this has been an interesting talk, Haldir." She stood up, and Haldir did the same.  
  
"Quite. Shall we try to find some medical records of psychosis?"  
  
"Yes, as soon as possible. In fact, if you think you can find someone to look after Legolas, we can begin this evening. Send word if you're able to, and we can meet in the Archives. All right?" Haldir nodded.  
  
"Good day, my lady," he called after her as she left the talan, wrapped up in a thick white cloak. Haldir turned to Legolas, who looked up at him with an uncertain smile.  
  
"Is something wrong, Haldir?"  
  
"Not really," Haldir assured him. "I'm just trying to think of someone who could look after you. I know Orophin is busy caring for his charge, and Rumil is in no state to look after someone... Hang on. You came with a keeper, didn't you? What was her name, again?"  
  
Legolas looked outside the window, where the snow was melting in small patches. "Gwaloth," he said distantly. "Gwaloth looked after me."  
  
*****tbc*****  
  
A/n: I toooold you the plot was thickening. Like syrup. Ahem. Well, reviews are nice, especially with toast. Nudge nudge, wink wink, ya know what I meaaan? So please... if you read it... it doesn't have to be a long review! It can be very short. ^.~ And I can't respond to reviews really, because it would mean answering questions, but... I still love you all. Each and every one of you. Erin gives you all a hug!  
Laterz  
~NS 


	15. Finding The Exit

A/n: Whee! Love and kisses. I love you, darlings, I do. Unfortunately for you an me an Erin, this lovely story is drawing to a close. I wish I could answer the questions you ask me in reviews, but that would give plot away. ;_;. Sorry! Oh, and please, IM me!!! If I decline the first time, send a new message, because that's my way of making sure you ain't a porn robot. -_-. Well, I have a ton of stuff needs doing.  
Ugh. Overdue homework, a history project looming on the horizon, another history project looming on the horizon, a third history project looming on the horizon, a book report, a new student, a new section of notes, another new section of notes, and a psycho nazi homework-police mother. Oh, and report cards. _. Who needs grades?! I can write! Well... That is... I think I can write. *looks mournfully at reviwers* POUT. Can I write for a living? Could I?! Hmmm.  
Should I write this as a book? It would have the same title. But different people, another place. Yeap. Maybes a dorm or summat. Well, tell me in a review, dears.  
  
Disclaimer: Nuh-uh. But I want to claim Erin as mine, you hear?! And the plot. No using them without permission! ...yeah, as if you'd ever want to use my pitiful Erin or my equally pitiful plot. Hah.  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Finding the Exit  
  
She straightened, her fist stuffed into her mouth. No one had heard her. She had shut the door, after all, and the walls were sound-absorbent. No one was coming. She noticed, with some interest, an insect fluttering by the window.  
  
She smiled sweetly, and used her fingernails to flip it over. It squirmed, helpless, until she grinned ferociously and impaled it, purple juices splattering her hand. She sat back, still wearing the same ear-to- ear grin, and began to laugh, rocking herself back and forth.  
  
She was awake. Gwaloth, on the other hand, was asleep.  
  
//no,// whispered Gwaloth, and stirred in her slumber. //No.// Her mental "eyes" flew open.  
  
She sat up in bed, sighing. //Gods, what a dream,// she thought aimlessly. She smiled. Then she noticed her hand, stained with the gore of an insect, and her smile cracked.  
  
//No. I didn't do this. I didn't! I was asleep! How could my body have moved while I was asleep?!//  
  
Gwaloth moaned as something hit her, inside her head, in her mental "gut". She passed, docile and comlacent, into sleep. The other woke up, and reattatched her deranged smile. She stood up, and went to the door.  
  
//ke he he... I have an important job today.// She walked quietly, like a wraith, over to Haldir's talan, and put her ear against the door.  
  
"-soon as possible. In fact, if you think you can find someone to look after Legolas, we can begin this evening. Send word if you're able to, and we can meet in the Archives. All right?" That was unmistakably the voice of Galadriel, the other thought with a pout. But, wait... someone to look after Legolas? She chuckled soundlessly to herself.  
  
"Good day, my lady."  
  
The other stiffened, and concentrated on hiding herself. Unbelievably, Galadriel did not notice her. The other shrugged. She supposed the wretched Lady was preoccupied with something.  
  
The other grinned. Nursing the Prince? The other "others" of Gwaloth would be very interested. Especially- She shuddered.  
  
Especially... the dark one. The one who scared everyone, not just the others. He- she? it?- would make certain that dear Gwaloth had a calm day. After all, they wanted her in a good mood, so that they could put her in the right place at the right time.  
  
Gleefully, the other dashed Gwaloth's body back to her talan, and arranged herself in the exact position Gwaloth had been before the other had taken over. Then, like a whisper, she slipped away, and Gwaloth awoke, a bit confused, but happy, and certain to herself that nothing was going to go wrong today.  
  
//Yes. Nothing shall go wrong today.//  
  
In the back of her mind, the others agreed. No, they whispered maliciously amongst themselves. It won't. ******************************************************************  
  
Legolas sat amicably in the bright sunlight of midday, his hair brushed until it shone. He had asked Haldir to leave him alone for a few minutes, because he truly needed some time to think.  
  
//There is a wall. There is a wall in my mind, and now that I am aware of it, it has stopped clouding me. The -Dark One- must have done something about this. Did he/she/it? I am not certain. I do not remember back then. I can barely remember last night.// He held his head in his hands, wary of the headaches that mind-searching brought on.  
  
//I can remember a bit more. It was the Dark One. The Dark One was there during the hurt and the pain. The dream I had was frightening. And the things in the dream made me afraid of Haldir. Is that what the Dark One wants? I can't even look at my memories of Haldir. They're too painful, too painful.//  
  
Legolas absentmindedly twisted a piece of hair between his fingers, spinning the lock until it doubled up on itself.  
  
//Maybe the Dark One wanted it that way. It's possible. But... but I have to trust the Dark One! I have to believe in the Dark One.//  
  
But why? whispered a bold voice within him.  
  
Legolas sighed. He knew why.  
  
//Because. If I can't trust the Dark One... who is there in this night? If I don't have the Dark One, I'm all alone. And I can't stand on my own. I am lost in the dark, blind, and the Dark One is a voice I am following to stumble my way around.//  
  
Galadriel sighed, and stopped reading the Prince's thoughts from her audience chamber. It took some effort to maintain a mental link from this distance for such a long time. She sat back, discouraged, and barely paid attention as Celeborn whispered soothing words to her. "Where is the Dark One leading you, blind one?" she asked to the empty air.  
  
She gave a cracked smile. She knew.  
  
"He is leading you into the abyss." ******************************************************************  
  
Rumil sat next to Lalwen in Orophin's talan. Orophin himself was sitting across from Rumil. Lalwen, on the other hand, was snoring lightly. It was an endearing snore. Rumil didn't particularly mind it. He was well and truly drunk, after all.  
  
"Orophin."  
  
"... yes?" Orophin said quietly.  
  
"Can we talk?"  
  
"That depends."  
  
"On what?" Rumil asked, taking another swig, eyes blurry.  
  
"What do you want to talk about?" Rumil sat back, smiling oddly.  
  
"It's something we need to dicuss. The- the suicide. At least, I thought it was a suicide. Funny what wine does to your brain, eh?"  
  
Orophin looked away, eyes getting teary. He shook all over in a shudder that went straight to his bones. "I- I don't know if I'll be able to talk, Rumil." He looked back at Rumil, to find that his brother had gotten another glass out and was smiling. Rumil winked.  
  
"We have the rest of the day. Now, take this," he said, pushing a thick and sweet-smelling glass of red liquid over to Orophin, "and get started. Trust me, Orophin." Rumil looked away, his smile growing melancholy.  
  
"Alcohol numbs the pain."  
  
Orophin looked at the goblet of hard liquor, and seemed to come to a conclusion. Nodding, almost to himself, he reached out and took the glass in his hands. He took a long sip, letting the fire of the drink burn in his stomach, burning to ashes the pain that had shot through his heart for the past few days.  
  
Orophin and Rumil looked at each other, and there was a long silence. Then, Rumil held his glass forwards.  
  
"To the ones who have died. To the future. To healing from all of these damned wounds." Orophin smiled, and held out his glass as well.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Now," Rumil said firmly. "We need to find out about that 'suicide.' Didn't something feel wrong to you?"  
  
"As a matter of fact," Orophin said with a deep frown, "it did."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Erin sighed, brilliant red hair swinging as Helle combed it for her, her mind having found a safe haven from her usual rutted track of thoughts. She didn't normally think like a sane person, she knew. These moments were rare, few and far between.  
  
//I cannot wait until they figure it out,// she thought wistfully, looking out the window, up towards Haldir's talan. //Maybe after the Dark One dies, I'll be able to break out of this prison. This prison in my mind.//  
  
*****tbc*****  
A/n: The ending is revealing itself! It won't be long now! Next is the last chapter! *huggles* I love you all. Really and truly. You're the reason I write so well (if you could go so far as to call this "good"). Now, poll: Should I or should I not make Labyrinth into a book? I may have to create a fantasy world for it and end up writing a frickin series, but should I nonetheless? Would you go out and buy it? ... Hmmm. Answer, por favor, mis amigas y amigos.  
lyl  
Nightbird*Songbird 


	16. Exit Labyrinth

A/n: LAST CHAPTER!!! Oooh, the end approaches!!!! You'll read it in a few moments! But not just yet. I think this is the last chapter... I may do an epilogue. ;_;. Bless you darling reviewers. Bless y'all!!!!!! Oh, and March 20th is Ostara!!!! Happy Ostara, everyone! *passes out lilies and green ribbons* ^.^ The story is ending now, and everything is explained. I will miss you all, and I hope that all of you enjoyed this story at least as much as I did. *huggled especially to Silva* You all rock!!!!! Now, watch out for Intrigue, please, and review! Mwah! Kiss!  
  
Disclaimer: Le sob... Non. I don't own the Lord of the Rings. I own Erin though, and Helle, and Gwaloth, and the plot, so please ask if you want to borrow them. Yes. You can borrow them, at whatever mental state. ...As long as you tell me!!! ^.^  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Exit Labyrinth  
  
Part One  
  
Gwaloth smiled brightly. "Of course I'll watch out for Legolas, Haldir! I want him to get well again just as much as you do."  
  
Haldir smiled with obvious relief. "You're sure?"  
  
"Of course. I have nothing else to do, do I? I'll come over right away."  
  
"Thank you, Gwaloth. This means more to me than you know."  
  
The door to Haldir's talan swung open noiselessly as the pair stepped inside. Legolas was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He smiled when he saw Gwaloth. "Hello," he said with a grin. "I remember you."  
  
Gwaloth looked at Haldir in amazement. "He really is getting better," she said in an astounded voice. "He couldn't even speak coherently when he came here a week ago. You've done a world of good."  
  
Haldir flushed, and looked down to hide the silly grin that spread across his face. "I care about him. That helps. Well, Galadriel will be waiting for me, so I should be going now." He gave Legolas a short hug, and the door shut behind him with a small click.  
  
Gwaloth looked at Legolas, and he looked back at her. As he looked, the evening sunset staining the windowpanes a dull red, something seemed to change within her. Her eyes grew remote and chill; her mouth firmed to a thin and angry line. She looked at him impassively, and then sat down, taking out a book.  
  
"You just sit and rest yourself for a bit, love," she said in a singsong voice. "Later, we'll go outside."  
  
Inside Gwaloth's head, the other chuckled.  
  
Legolas nodded, and looked out the window. Haldir walked by, underneath the trees, and he sighed, blushing. //Haldir...// He shook his head, afraid he was fogging the glass.  
  
The game that Legolas most enjoyed playing with himself was creating the story and life of everything he saw out the window. Every single tree, every leaf, every blade of grass had a story to tell. But they didn't tell the story, so Legolas pretended, making it up as he went along.  
  
The sun slipped completely below the horizon. Gwaloth had not removed her cloak, and her cowl cast her face into shadow. Her arms stiffened, and her fingers clenched spasmodically, dropping the book. She stood up, her face invisible.  
  
Legolas winced as she grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. "G- Gwaloth?" he asked in a small voice. She didn't answer. He gulped.  
  
"W-where are we going?" he said as she opened the door and began to lead him away from Caras Galadhon.  
  
She said not a word.  
  
Finally, after several minutes of the hurried pace Gwaloth set, she stopped abruptly, causing Legolas to trip and fall. He got up, brushing the snow from his body and wincing. He turned around. Gwaloth was pulling things out of a hollow tree that he did not recognize. "Gw-"  
  
Anything he might have said dies on his lips. Gwaloth had pulled back her cowl, and it wasn't Gwaloth any more.  
  
Legolas knew the Dark One by now.  
  
He fell utterly silent, and braced himself for the pain.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
The beating was worse this time. This time, the pain was absolute and complete. The Dark One, he, she, it, was enraged. The Dark One wanted to make him see death and bring him back, to hurt him as much as possible and force him to live.  
  
//valar...//  
  
The needle and thread came first. The Dark One rammed it through Legolas's nose, his ears, his cheek, and pulled down to punch through the lip of skin over his navel. Then, since the thread had been oil-soaked, the Dark One set it alight with a flint and stone. It hurt intensely, brutally burning his skin.  
  
//daro....//  
  
Then came the knives. This time, the Dark One did not make it nagging pain. The Dark One rammed the two stilettos through his calves, lodging them there and keeping them there. Legolas fell to the ground.  
  
//Haldir, daro...//  
  
The Dark One pulled out a nasty-looking club, spiked with iron pegs broken off at jagged points. He, she, it, slammed it down onto Legolas at his collarbone, and then dragged it down his back. The Dark One rained blow after blow upon the tendons of Legolas's legs, each impact causing a sickening crunch.  
  
//no... trust? Trust Dark One? Hurts... vala hurts hurts hurts pain pain pain hurt hurt hurt trust? trust?//  
  
Finally, the Dark One brandished a whip, and quickly began to flay strips of skin off of the Prince's back. They were still attached to his body, and hung limply off of him like torn cloth, staining the snow red. Everything was red. And the Dark One went on and on and on, flipping him over and making him watch himself be flagellated to a nauseating, disgusting crimson pulp.  
  
//can't... feel... nerve endings must be gone. no... it... it aches a little... no do not think about it, it will hurt if you concentrate don't think...//  
  
Legolas was beyond pain.  
  
He floated in a haze through his mind, vaguely looking at his memories. The pain that The Dark One was giving to him was incredibly intense, worse than anything he had ever felt in his life. It made the barrier between him and his memories weak, in comparison. Legolas reached out with the tip of his fingers, and broke it...  
  
He began with his earliest memory of the Dark One's pain.  
  
*****  
Legolas looked up at the stars and breathed deeply. He didn't dare sigh.  
  
He was told to never make a sound.  
  
He smiled and opened his mouth, laughing silently in joy. He loved the stars so much, it was almost painful when the sun came up and hid them. They were beacons of light and their purity wrapped around his heart like a bandage, soothing and protecting him from people.  
  
There was only one person who wouldn't hurt him.  
  
Legolas hated all the others except her.  
  
She was beautiful. She was the one who had warned him; she had given him the most important warning of his life.  
  
Her warning had protected him from everything.  
  
Never make a sound.  
  
Soft footsteps warned him of her presence. He could tell it was her from the confidence of her feet upon the flagstone path, from her steadiness. Everyone else treaded softly around him.  
  
He spun about slowly, to avoid making noise on the ground. She didn't like him to make much noise.  
  
She was there, as beautiful as ever. He knelt soundlessly before her, and she laid a soft hand upon his forehead.  
  
"Did you speak?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Did you make a sound?"  
  
Legolas shook his head again. She smiled at him, and Legolas smiled back, pathetically relieved he had not displeased her. Then she, still smiling sweetly, scraped her nails across his face.  
  
Legolas didn't even wince. The Dark Woman looked pleased.  
  
"Remember, Legolas. You must not make a sound even under torture to be worthy of me. Have you been strengthening yourself?"  
  
Legolas nodded mutely. The Dark Woman smiled dangerously, and she raised the whip and club that were ever by her side. The handle of the whip reflected moonlight onto the willow trees that swayed in the wind.  
  
"Let us see how strong you are," she said, and Legolas grinned in pleasure. The whip uncurled.  
  
There was a crack throughout the circle of willows, but they kept it secret and muffled it from the rest of the world.  
  
Legolas bit his lip and steeled himself to remain kneeling. Wetness dribbled down his back, and he relished the Dark Woman's strength.  
  
This was what he craved.  
  
After all, he loved her.  
  
Further back, another memory.  
  
***************  
The Dark Woman, telling him over and over and over again that he couldn't trust anyone, making him scared and frightened. And she would comfort him, stroke his forehead, and tell him that he could trust her. Him. It. She was many, many people, and all of them but the one which showed during the day would teach him.  
  
The Dark One would teach him about many things. About how he was vulnerable and weak, and needed to be protected. About how his adar hated him and wanted to hurt him. So did his nana. In fact, everyone hated him, because he was worthless.  
  
But she didn't hate him, she would whisper. She would care for him all the same, even though everyone hated him.  
  
Year after year, decade after decade. He was like a fly, caught in a web, being spun into a tighter and tighter space by the spider. He had heard what the Dark One said so many, many times, and had believed her totally. He had made her words his mantra. She was his goddess, god, deity. She would control him, keep him safe, and never let anyone hurt him. All he had to do was follow these three rules...  
  
Never make a sound.  
  
Never trust a soul.  
  
And, finally, to hurt himself. Hurt himself and to enjoy it, because pain meant life. He had to hurt himself to be worthy of her. He had to. She told him to, and he did it.  
  
************  
Still earlier, before her, before anything. He was playing happily in the courtyard after lessons, his laughter echoing throughout the halls. His ada was waiting for him with open arms, and a huge smile. He was loved, so loved here, that it was almost painful to stop the embrace. Legolas smiled at his ada.  
  
"I love you, Las."  
  
"I love you too, ada."  
  
*~*~*~ ? ~*~*~*  
  
A dam broke then, and Legolas began to cry, the tears spilling down his bloodstained face as the Dark One continued to whip him.  
  
He had been living in a dream world. Legolas looked back, sickened, at the pages of his life. He had had so much promise, so much love, such a high sense of right and wrong. How had the Dark One done this to him? When had he started to hate his ada? How long had it been since he could really think straight?  
  
How could he have let something so important, his sense of what was right and what was wrong, slip away?  
  
Gods.  
  
Legolas shook as he stood, mutely, gazing into the face of the Dark One. His wounds were bleeding harder, and his world was going dim.  
  
//I never should have listened. You....//  
  
Something hurtled into the Dark One. The Dark One screamed as a pair of shapes wrestled her to the ground and caught her, writhing and twisting. She glared furiously at Legolas.  
  
//In the end, you were the only one...//  
  
Voices screamed his name. Familiar voices. Rumil? Orophin? Haldir? He was sinking into darkness, his mind going to a peaceful rest for the first time since he was a small child. Legolas sighed as he felt Haldir's hands pick him up. He knew it was Haldir, without having to be awake or with open eyes.  
  
//... the only one...//  
  
//...who wanted to hurt me.//  
  
A last memory, warm and soft, came to him. Strong arms, supporting him. Sweet mouth, warm lips. A haven from the pain. Haldir. This was what love really was, Legolas knew with quiet certainty. Love wasn't supposed to hurt. Whoever had told him that, whoever the Dark One really was, he was wrong.  
  
He slipped into oblivion.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Part Two  
  
"Being in love is the scariest thing in the world. That a person could mean the world to someone is frightening, don't you think? Sometimes, all that person would have to do to stop someone from killing themselves is smile at them. And to smile at the wrong person at the wrong time could send the one who loves you into despair. They could even kill themselves."  
  
Legolas looked up at the sunlight, streaming through the infirmary window.  
  
"It's not right, that a person should have so much power over another person. It's downright terrifying." He looked up at Haldir and Galadriel from the healer's bed he was lying within.  
  
"When I was very, very small, and Gwaloth first arrived, I had a childhood crush on her. I was convinced I loved her, to the point at which I was ready to believe whatever she told me. That was how her dark sides, the others and the Dark One, got a hook into my mind. Then, they fed me lie after lie over the years, until I was so wrapped up in them that I couldn't think straight. I guess she was insane, wasn't she?"  
  
Galadriel opened her mouth to speak, but someone else beat her to it.  
  
"Yes," Erin said, walking into the room with a warm smile. "How are you feeling, Legolas?" She sat down next to the bed, her brushed hair swaying gently down her back. Her eyes were bright and alive. Galadriel smiled at her, dressed in a simple white gown that mage her look almost radiant.  
  
Haldir sat forward, interested. His clothes were pale blue and silken, creasing slightly under his arms and around his chest. He was sitting in a gently carved willow chair, painted a soft shade of white. Legolas was lying in his bed, nearly every inch of his skin covered in bandages. Haldir smiled softly. The Healers had formed a circle around him all night, working manically to prevent scar tissue from destroying the Prince's face. Haldir knew, though, that he would have loved Legolas even if he had been scarred.  
  
After all, his eyes- those beautiful, deep blue eyes- were alive.  
  
"Erin? You're... you're all right," Legolas said in excitement. "How did it happen? When?"  
  
Erin looked away. "It happened... last night. When you were..." She looked at Legolas, her face an unreadable mask.  
  
"Gwaloth. She died, Legolas. She killed herself. Orophin and Rumil were the ones that found her with you, and they shut her in one of the hospital talans. When they came in later- She was hanging from the ceiling in the safe room."  
  
Legolas stared at her numbly, his face pale. Finally he broke the silence. "Gods. How did you know?"  
  
Erin smiled wanly. "I think I have a very long story to tell."  
  
"The first thing you need to know is that Gwaloth and I were twins, and like most twins, we had a connection. I was the larger one, she was the smaller. We had a little sister, but she was bigger than Gwaloth, too. I guess you could say Gwaloth was the runt.  
  
"Now, our mother was a bit insane as well, but it was truly harmless. You must understand that we all loved her deeply. She especially cared for Gwaloth, because Gwaloth was the 'runt', so to speak." Erin cleared her throat.  
  
"Our father, on the other hand, had something inside of him that wasn't insanity, but it was a sick and twisted part of him. None of us felt comfortable around him, but our mother encouraged us to spend time with him.  
  
"For a runt, Gwaloth was extremely strong. She worked at the heavy labor in the fields, and did all the hard labor. Only adar was stronger than her.  
  
"One day, the three of us went looking for strawberries. Our mother loved them, and she had been gone for two days. It was normal for her to go camp by herself, in the woods, because she would do it once a year. We didn't know anything was wrong, until my third sister suggested we take a drink of water.  
  
"That was when the madness began. Gwaloth was the one, you know, who lifted the lid of the well, and she was the one who saw our mother down there, rotten and disgusting after two days of death. Nana had thrown herself in.  
  
"Gwaloth grew very, very still. Neither of us had realized just how much Gwaloth had depended on our mother for emotional support and protection, but when she saw our mother's corpse, something inside of her snapped. She went totally berserk." Gwaloth dropped her head.  
  
"She didn't recognize anyone, but she knew enough not to harm me, because of our mental link. But our other sister..." Erin choked. "Gwaloth- she- she strangled her. Right there. With her bare hands. I didn't know what to do but run away. I eventually became a noble of Eryn Lasgalen, but my mental condition deteriorated steadily as Gwaloth killed again and again. Rabbits, deer, a halfling, a squirrel or two, every insect she could get her hands on- she was a monster at times. But every once in a while, her old self would break free.  
  
"Gwaloth wasn't evil. Seeing our mother drove her to... something like schizophrenia. At times she was a normal Elf. But then at other times, she became a liar, or a thief, or a killing machine. Finally, a personality developed which made us both insane- the Dark One. Whatever the Dark One was, it was sadistic. It took pleasure from pain, torturing its victims endlessly, never letting them die until it had driven them over the edge.  
  
"It was about that time that she killed our father."  
  
Gwaloth shuddered for a moment, as mental images of blood everywhere, sinking into the cold, cold snow, once again rose, prodding her mind and making her feel the heat of the kill once again, all of it sent to her from Gwaloth.  
  
"Then, she moved to Eryn Lasgalen, got a job as a nurse, and the rest is common knowledge." Erin sighed.  
  
"She was completely, utterly herself- utterly Gwaloth- for when she killed herself. She was perfectly sane. As I said, she fluctuated. The problem for me was that, I could only be sane if she was."  
  
For an instant, Gwaloth shuddered, and couldn't say a word. But then, after a short drink of water, she breathed deeply and composed herself once more. Clearing her throat, she began to speak once more, her heart plainly aching.  
  
"She wanted to get out of this world, to go to somewhere else where she had control over her own life again. And so she decided that she had to end it all. I was with her for nearly the whole thing. I asked her, then, why she had killed our adar, why losing nana, her great protector, had made her go mad."  
  
Erin looked up at Legolas and Galadriel and Haldir, and they could then see that she was weeping. "I- I didn't know until yesterday," she said, gulping in air as she choked out the words, "that the sick and twisted demons within our adar... had taken control. Her memories- she shared them with me. Rape after endless rape, abuse, torture, slavery- oh, Valar!" She began to sob.  
  
"He was doing it to her, even while nana was alive! Nana must have been worse in the head than we thought.... somehow, nana had blamed herself for what her husband was doing. And Gwaloth had her worst nightmare come true- adar had always threatened her, telling her that he would kill nana so that Gwaloth had no one to protect her. And then, nana died anyway. Gwaloth had no one, nobody but me. You know, Legolas," she said, her voice sick and tired, "she really did love you. Deep down, in the part of her that was still Gwaloth, she wanted to keep you safe.  
  
"She wanted to protect you from your own nana and adar, because... she couldn't save herself..."  
  
There was a silence as Galadriel tried to find something to say and failed.  
  
Finally, Haldir laid a comforting arm on Gwaloth's shoulder. "It's okay," he said gently. "It isn't your fault, and I don't blame you. You didn't know. How could you have known? A twin's connection is never that strong when they're young. You aren't to blame."  
  
"Thank you," Erin mumbled under her breath. She took out a handkerchief, and blew her nose. Then she stood up.  
  
"So. When my dear, darling, deceived sister killed herself, the monsters within her, her insanity, died as well. I am no longer insane; far from it. All that was making me insane was my connection to Gwaloth; I got the backlash. Now, I must leave you all, to explain things to the Archivists. They're dying to study me, you know- they want to write more psychological drivel. Haldir..." She paused at the door, and looked over her shoulder with a small smile.  
  
"Take care of Legolas," she whispered, and left the room. Galadriel raised her eyebrows at the two Elves, who ducked their heads in embarrassment.  
  
"I hope you remember to thank Orophin and Rumil for coming to the rescue, you two. And Legolas, we'll have to send word to your parents as soon as we can get you out of bed, understood? Thankfully, we could give you emergency healing. All you'll have from the incident will be a few white lines." Then she winked, and headed after Gwaloth.  
  
"Just don't try anything while he's injured, Haldir," Galadriel called over her shoulder, shutting the door behind her.  
  
There was a brief silence.  
  
"Well, scars aren't that bad. I have plenty of them, from earlier times with the Dark One." Even if Legolas had blamed Gwaloth for her insanity and his mutilation, he knew, deep within himself, that she had not been the one in control. Out of respect, he called his attacker the Dark One.  
  
"Well indeed. How are you, really?"  
  
Legolas chuckled. "Better than I've been in a long, long time."  
  
"That's good."  
  
"Yes," he said, leaning forwards to Haldir and breathing lightly on his cheek, "it most definitely is."  
  
//My name is Legolas. I'm the Prince of Mirkwood, son of Thranduil and Eilphdi, and in love with Haldir of Lorien. I don't know what the future holds. All I know is that I'm getting out of the long night of blindness, with Haldir by my side.//  
  
On Legolas' and Haldir's hands were two shining silver bands. Haldir said that his mother had given them to him, to give to someone he loved. Legolas had accepted, of course. He knew with absolute certainty that Haldir was the "one". It had been a tremendous shock to him that someone loved him deeply enough to stay with him forever. Upon all the unpleasant discoveries he had made earlier in the day, like the truth about Gwaloth and Erin, and his own past, the rings had made him burst into tears.  
  
Legolas had had to work hard at calming Haldir down after that. But in the end, Haldir was relieved, and he was happy, and Legolas was happy, and the world, for the first time in a long while, was good.  
  
//And I know that as long as Haldir lives, he will help me make sure of something...//  
  
//That never am I trapped, once more...//  
  
Haldir put his hand at the back of Legolas' head and tilted it backwards, leaning closer.  
  
//in the Labyrinth.//  
  
And the kiss was warm.  
  
THE END  
  
A/n: Love you ALL. Bye and if you want more of my stuff, check out Intrigue, Forget, or I don't wanna be a Mary-Sue. *sobs* MISS YA ALL!!!! BYE!!!! 


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